Basketball roundup: NC State adds Saint Louis to schedule for Thursday

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 16, 2020

Associated Press

Saint Louis and North Carolina State have agreed to meet Thursday in St. Louis as part of a two-game men’s basketball series.

The schools announced the late addition to the schedule Tuesday. The two-game set includes the Billikens returning the home game by visiting the Wolfpack during the 2022-23 season.

Saint Louis had been seeking a nonconference game, particularly after Saturday’s matchup with Evansville was canceled.

This will be the Wolfpack’s first game in two weeks. N.C. State last played Dec. 3 by beating Massachusetts-Lowell in “Bubbleville” in Uncasville, Connecticut, but a game two days later against Connecticut was canceled due to a positive COVID-19 test within the Wolfpack’s program.

That was one of four straight games to be canceled or postponed for the Wolfpack. N.C. State was set to play its Atlantic Coast Conference opener at No. 23 Louisville today, but that game was postponed amid coronavirus issues within the Cardinals program.

No. 10 Tennessee 79,  Appalachian State, 38

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Victor Bailey had 13 points and the Volunteers put their stifling defense on full display in the victory over the Mountaineers.

The Volunteers held Appalachian State scoreless for the first 6:22 while jumping out to a 13-0 lead. The margin was 36-8 before the Mountaineers scored the last five points of the first half.

Tennessee came into the game holding opponents to 26% shooting from the field. Appalachian State managed 28%.

John Fulkerson and Jaden Springer each had 12 points for Tennessee (3-0).  Appalachian State (4-2) was led by Michael Almonacy with nine points.

No. 12 Wisconsin 77, Loyola of Chicago 63

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Brad Davison and D’Mitrik Trice each scored 17 points as No. 12 Wisconsin capitalized on its sizzling 3-point shooting to beat Loyola of Chicago.

Wisconsin (5-1) went 10 of 18 from beyond the arc and made four of those long-range attempts during a 19-2 run that helped the Badgers build an 18-point advantage in the second half. The game was set up just two days earlier after both teams had scheduled matchups scrapped due to the pandemic.

Virginia Tech 66, No. 24 Clemson 60

BLACKSBURG,Va. (AP) — Tyrece Radford scored 15 points and the Hokies upset the Tigers.

Radford hit 5 of 11 from the floor and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line for the Hokies (5-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their conference opener for the fifth time in the past six seasons.

Keve Aluma and Nahiem Alleyne each added 13 points for Virginia Tech, which was 25 for 31 on free throws, including 4 for 4 in the waning seconds. Alleyne’s two free throws with 10.7 seconds remaining pushed the Hokies’ lead to 64-60, and after Clemson’s Al-Amir Dawes missed a 3-pointer, the Tigers fouled Hunter Cattoor, who hit two free throws with a second left to seal it.

Dawes led Clemson (5-1, 0-1) with a game-high 18 points. He hit five 3-pointers.

State games

Charlotte 63, Davidson 52: In Davidson, Jahmir Young had 18 points and seven rebounds as the 49ers won. Jordan Shepherd added 16 points and seven rebounds for the 49ers (2-3). Milos Supica chipped in 11 points.

Kellan Grady had 23 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (3-3). Hyunjung Lee added 16 points and seven rebounds.

UNC-Greensboro 65,  SC-Upstate 57: In Greensboro, Khyre Thompson had 16 points off the bench to lift UNC-Greensboro to victory. Tommy Bruner had 13 points and eight rebounds for South Carolina Upstate (0-7). Dalvin White added 12 points. Nevin Zink had 11 points.

VCU 93, Western Carolina 68: In Richmond, Va., Nah’Shon Hyland had a career-high 31 points as VCU routed Western Carolina. Jamir Watkins had 15 points for VCU (6-2), which earned its fourth consecutive win. Corey Douglas Jr. added 11 points. Vince Williams Jr. had 10 points.

Xavier Cork had 16 points for the Catamounts (6-2), whose five-game win streak was broken. Tyler Harris and Matt Halvorsen each added 12 points.

Mason Faulkner, the Catamounts’ leading scorer coming in at 18 points per game, scored only nine on 3-of-10 shooting.

East Tennessee State 65, Gardner-Webb 60: In Johnson City, Tenn.,  David Sloan had 18 points and seven assists as East Tennessee State edged Gardner-Webb. Ledarrius Brewer added 14 points for the Buccaneers (2-3).

D’Maurian Williams had 17 points for the Runnin’ Bulldogs (0-3).

Late Monday game

Marquette 89, No. 9 Creighton 84: In Omaha, Neb., Marquette clamped down on Creighton’s shooters in the second half, made a few adjustments on the offensive end and claimed its second win over a top-10 opponent in two weeks.

D.J. Carton scored a career-high 20 points Monday night to lead the Golden Eagles (5-2, 1-0 Big East), who came back from a 12-point first-half deficit to take a lead and then held off a couple of late comeback bids by the Bluejays (4-2, 0-1).

“No. 1, we took care of the ball and did a good job of not having empty possessions with turnovers,” Golden Eagles coach Steve Wojciechowski said. “We got our big guys the ball in the paint and we got some really strong drives from perimeter guys. We’re used to kind of bombing people out with 3s. We can make good shots, but we have to play through the paint.”

Mitch Ballock went 8 of 13 on 3s and had a season-high 26 points to lead Creighton. Denzel Mahoney added 21 points.