College basketball roundup: Wake Forest trounces Virginia Tech in ACC opener

Published 11:59 pm Saturday, December 4, 2021

Associated Press

BLACKSBURG, Va. — Daivien Williamson tossed in 19 points and Dallas Walton scored 17 as Wake Forest pulled away in the second half to beat Virginia Tech 80-61 in an Atlantic Coast Conference opener on Saturday.

Williamson scored 11 points in the second half to help the Demon Deacons (8-1) turn a 38-34 lead at intermission into a rout. Williamson sank 8 of 14 shots, including 3 of 6 from behind the 3-point line, as Wake Forest shot 63% from the floor and 44% from distance (7 of 16). Walton knocked down 7 of 10 shots against Virginia Tech’s stout defense. The Hokies came in yielding just 53.4 points per game — second best in the nation.

Jake LaRavia pitched in with 10 points and seven rebounds for Wake Forest. Alondes Williams contributed 10 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, but he also had six of the Deacons’ 10 turnovers.

Keve Aluma paced Virginia Tech (6-3) with 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists. He scored just five points in the second half. Justyn Mutts added 15 points. Aluma and Mutts — the Hokies’ only two players averaging in double figures — combined to make 15 of 26 shots from the floor. The rest of the Hokies sank only 8 of 30 shots (27%).

Wake Forest outscored Virginia Tech 48-28 in the paint. The Hokies lost for the first time in their last five ACC home openers and saw a four-game win streak at home end. The Demon Deacons snapped a six-game skid against Virginia Tech and lead the all-time series 39-31.

Davidson 70, William & Mary 46

DAVIDSON — Hyunjung Lee had 12 points and 10 rebounds to carry Davidson to a 70-46 win over William & Mary. Luka Brajkovic had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (6-2), who stretched their winning streak to five games. Foster Loyer added 15 points.

Connor Kochera had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Tribe (1-8). Yuri Covington added 14 points.

Charlotte 86, George Washington 79

CHARLOTTE — Jahmir Young scored 26 points and Clyde Trapp scored 19 with 12 rebounds and Charlotte ended a three-game losing streak beating George Washington. Young made all 11 of his foul shots and Charlotte finished 19 for 21 from the line. Austin Butler scored 17 points and Aly Khalifa 10.

Brendan Adams’ basket gave the Colonials a 23-17 lead with 8:26 before halftime. Young followed with a four-point play which ignited Charlotte (4-3) and the 49ers proceeded to outscore George Washington 24-6 the rest of the half. Charlotte never trailed after intermission.

James Bishop scored 23 points for George Washington (2-8).

UNC Asheville 82, NC Central 66

ASHEVILLE — Tajion Jones had 23 points and 10 rebounds to help UNC Asheville cruise past North Carolina Central. Jamon Battle had 14 points for the Bulldogs (5-3), who won their fourth straight game at home. Trent Stephney added 11 points and seven rebounds, while
LJ Thorpe scored 10.

Randy Miller Jr. had 18 points for the Eagles (3-6). Eric Boone added 13 points and six rebounds. Kris Monroe had 12 points.

East Carolina 62, Gardner-Webb 52

GREENVILLE — J.J. Miles had 15 points as East Carolina beat Gardner-Webb 62-52. Brandon Suggs had 12 points for East Carolina (7-2), which earned its sixth consecutive home victory. Tristen Newton added 12 points. Ludgy Debaut had 11 rebounds.

Jordan Sears had 12 points for the Runnin’ Bulldogs (4-4), whose four-game winning streak came to an end.

Western Carolina 78, SC Upstate 73

SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Nicholas Robinson scored 14 points and Travion McCray scored 12 and distributed eight assists and Western Carolina beat South Carolina Upstate. The Catamounts outscored South Carolina Upstate 10-2 in the final 3:19 to earn the win.

Western Carolina (5-4) got 34 points from its reserves as Marcus Banks and Marvin Price each scored 11. Marlow Gilmore also grabbed 11 rebounds off the bench.

Jalen Breazeale, Jordan Gainey and Bryson Mozone each scored 15 for the Spartans (2-6).

VCU 65, Campbell 61: Vince Williams Jr. had 14 points, eight rebounds and five assists as VCU narrowly beat Campbell. KeShawn Curry had 12 points for the Rams (4-4).  Cedric Henderson Jr. had 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Fighting Camels (6-2), whose four-game winning streak came to an end. He also committed seven turnovers. Jesus Carralero added 19 points and six assists.

High Point 83, Elon 77: John-Michael Wright had 29 points and 10 rebounds as High Point topped Elon 83-77 on Saturday night.

Zach Austin added 20 points for the Panthers (4-4). Emmanuel Izunabor scored 12.

Torrence Watson scored a career-high 34 points for the Phoenix (2-7), who have now lost six straight. Hunter McIntosh added 16 points.

___

For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and http://twitter.com/AP_Top25

___

Portions of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com