UNC Wilmington showed why it is the Colonial Athletic Association favorite, routing William and Mary 101-77 Thursday at Trask Coliseum. C.J. Bryce, Chris Flemmings and Denzel Ingram all scored 18 points for the Seahawks.
Old Dominion transfer Ambrose Mosley had 14 points and Devontae Cacok had 14 points and 13 rebounds for UNCW (16-2, 5-0), which is off to its best start in school history. Cacok leads the nation with a field-goal percentage of 83, according to the CAA.
Jack Whitman’s dunk put the Tribe (8-7, 2-2) on top 30-22 with 7:52 left before halftime. But the Seahawks went on a 12-0 run in a little more than two minutes and took the lead on Cacok’s dunk. It was 47-36 at the half.
Whitman led the Tribe with 21 points on 9-for-12 shooting, Omar Prewitt had 12 points, and Daniel Dixon and Nathan Knight each had 10 points.
No. 20 Notre Dame 67, Miami 62: V.J. Beachem sank the go-ahead basket and made the clinching steal as the Irish rallied from a four-point deficit in the final 2 1/2 minutes. Matt Farrell’s two free throws iced the victory.
The Irish (15-2, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) outscored Miami 10-1 down the stretch to earn their sixth straight victory. Their four league wins have been by a total of 18 points. Miami (11-4, 1-2) had its 21-game home winning streak snapped.
The Irish were down 61-57 with 2:30 left, but Beachem’s reverse layup put Notre Dame ahead 63-61 with 1:04 to go. After Ja’Quan Newton made one of two free throws for Miami, Steve Vasturia drove for a layup with 8 seconds remaining.
Following a timeout, Beachem made a steal on the inbounds play, and Matt Farrell’s two free throws iced the victory.
Georgia Tech 75, Clemson 63: Ben Lammers scored 23 points and corralled 10 rebounds as the Yellow Jackets (10-6, 2-2 ACC) beat the Tigers (11-5, 1-3) in Atlanta.
Quinton Stephens added 16 points as the inexperienced Yellow Jackets, who upset North Carolina and played Louisville tough, pulled off another surprising performance at home under first-year coach Josh Pastner.
Josh Okogie finished with 13 points, and Tadric Jackson scored 10 for the Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech was projected to be among the league’s worst teams.
Jaron Blossomgame scored 20 points and Avry Holmes 14 for Clemson, which has lost three straight.
College of Charleston 53, James Madison 51: Joe Chealey’s 13-footer gave the Cougars (14-4, 5-0 CAA) a 52-51 lead in Harrisonburg, and Joey McLean missed a running hook shot in the final seconds that would have won the game for the Dukes (5-13, 3-2).
Grant Riller had 19 points for Charleston. Jackson Kent scored 14 and Yohanny Dalembert 13 for JMU.
VMI 79, Western Carolina 78: Trey Chapman sank a pair of free throws in the final minute, and Keith Smith blocked the Catamounts’ final shot as VMI (4-11, 1-3) held on for its first Southern Conference win of the season.
Elijah Pughsley pulled WCU within a point at the free-throw line and grabbed a clutch defensive rebound with nine seconds remaining, but had his 3-point attempt blocked by Smith with one second to go.
Chapman scored 18 points for the Keydets, hitting 8 of 10 free throws. QJ Peterson had 19 points and 10 rebounds, his third double-double of the season, and Smith added 13 points.
Pughsley scored 18 points off the bench for the Catamounts (5-12, 0-4) and shot 4 for 8 from distance.
Elon 96, Hofstra 80: Steven Santa Ana hit five 3-pointers and scored 29 points, helping give the host Phoenix back-to-back wins following three consecutive losses to open CAA play.
Santa Ana finished 11 of 16 from the field. Tyler Seibring finished with 22 points and Dainan Swoope added 18 for Elon (10-8, 2-3), which shot 57.9 percent and hit 14 3-pointers.
Deron Powers, a former star for Williamsburg Christian Academy and Hampton University, led the Pride (9-9, 1-4), which has lost four straight, with 21 points. Eli Pemberton added 16.
Northeastern 92, Drexel 75: T.J. Williams matched his career high with 30 points as Northeastern beat Drexel for the second time this season.
Northeastern (12-5, 5-0 CAA), which beat the Dragons 75-70 in overtime last week in Philadelphia, and extended its win streak to eight. Drexel (6-11, 0-4), led by Sammy Mojica’s 18 points, has lost five straight, including four straight conference games.
The Huskies’ Maxime Boursiquot came off the bench to score 17 points and grab 11 boards, while Devon Begley collected 16 points and passed out nine assists.
La Salle 87, Rhode Island 75: Amar Stukes was 4 of 6 from the floor and made 13 of 14 free throws for 22 points as the Explorers pulled an upset in Kingston, R.I.
Pookie Powell added 16 points while dishing out five assists. B.J. Johnson chipped in 16 points, seven rebounds and two blocks.
La Salle (9-5, 3-1 Atlantic 10) was up 43-22 at the break and held a 68-49 advantage midway through the second half.
The Explorers, who have won the last three and picked up five victories in their last six games, made 26 of 45 (58 percent) field-goal attempts while limiting Rhode Island to 26 of 66.
Jared Terrell led Rhode Island (10-6, 2-2) with 14 points.
WOMEN
Southern Miss 84, Old Dominion 69: The Golden Eagles shot 7 of 8 to close the first half with a 12-point lead and held on against turnover-plagued ODU in Hattiesburg. ODU trimmed a 17-point deficit to six with two minutes left, but USM finished on a 9-0 run.
Jennie Simms led ODU with 19 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while MaKayla Timmons recorded career-highs of 10 points and six rebounds. Keyana Brown of Williamsburg added nine points.
Brittany Dinkins led Southern Miss with 30 points, 10 steals and eight assists, as her Eagles scored 33 points off of 29 ODU turnovers.
No. 7 Florida State 72, No. 9 Louisville 65: Shakayla Thomas scored four of her 24 points during a key fourth-period run by the Seminoles in Tallahassee.
Louisville led 63-60 with 3:54 remaining, but the Seminoles (16-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) scored nine straight points to take the lead. Asia Durr led Louisville (15-4, 3-2) with 21 points, including 10 in the third period.
Syracuse 85, No. 23 N.C. State 75: Alexis Peterson scored 28 of her school-record 45 points in the second half for the Orange.
Peterson had eight points as the Orange scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter, erasing an eight-point deficit. Her 3-pointer tied it at 62, and she made another 3 to put Syracuse up for good.
Peterson broke the school mark of 41 points set by Vaida Sipaviciute against Colgate on Nov. 29, 2005. Brittney Sykes added 17 points for Syracuse (13-5, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Chelsea Nelson had 18 points for the Wolfpack (13-5, 3-2).
No. 5 South Carolina 66, Georgia 63: Bianca Cuevas-Moore had a career-high 25 points as the host Gamecocks won without injured All-American A’ja Wilson.
Alaina Coates added 12 points and 11 rebounds for her 52nd career double-double for the Gamecocks (14-1, 4-0 Southeastern Conference). Wilson sprained her right ankle at Florida on Sunday.
Pachis Roberts led Georgia (10-7, 2-2) with 17 points.
No. 6 Notre Dame 86, Pittsburgh 54: Arike Ogunbowale matched her career high with five 3-pointers and scored 19 points for the Irish.
Jackie Young had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Kristina Nelson added 13 points for the Irish (16-2, 4-1 ACC). They have won four straight.
Brenna Wise and Alayna Gribble each scored 17 points for Pittsburgh (10-7, 1-3).
No. 22 Duke 70, North Carolina 58: Leaonna Odom had 15 points for the host Blue Devils, who outscored UNC 18-4 in the second quarter.
Kyra Lambert added 13 points for the Blue Devils (15-2, 3-1 ACC).
Paris Kea had 16 points for North Carolina (12-5, 1-3), while Stephanie Watts added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
