Associated Press

RALEIGH — Armando Bacot scored 28 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for his 22nd double-double this season to lead North Carolina to an 84-74 victory over North Carolina State on Saturday.

Bacot was 11-of-13 shooting and blocked five shots for the Tar Heels (21-8, 13-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who didn’t leave any doubt against the last-place Wolfpack in a game UNC couldn’t afford to have mar their NCAA Tournament at-large resume.

Brady Manek, Caleb Love and Puff Johnson scored 16 points each. It was a career best for Johnson, who played a season-high 29 minutes after Leaky Black left with a knee injury in the first half.

Terquavion Smith scored 20 points, Cam Hayes came off the bench to add 16 and Jericole Hellems added 11 for NC State (11-18, 4-14), which has lost eight of its last nine. Leading scorer and rebounder Dereon Seabron had 11 points and two rebounds. NC State shot 38%.

UNC has won the last three against NC State, including a 100-80 win on Jan. 29. In that game, the Tar Heels made 15 3-pointers on 27 attempts. This time, they made just 5 of 19 but dominated the boards 46-25 and points in the paint 44-28 while making 21 of 23 from the line.

Bacot scored the first six points in a game-opening 20-3 run.  NC State scored the first six points of the second half before Bacot scored nine points in an 11-0 run. The lead was 22 and it would stay in double figures with final margin the closest the Wolfpack got in the second half.

North Carolina is host to Syracuse on Monday and at No. 7 Duke on Saturday. NC State is at Wake Forest on Wednesday and ends the regular season at Florida State on Saturday.

LaRavia, Walton lead Wake’s rout of Louisville

WINSTON-SALEM — Jake LaRavia scored 23 points, Dallas Walton scored 22 and all five Wake Forest starters reached double figures in a 99-77 victory over Louisville.

Wake Forest rolled through the second half, turning an eight-point halftime lead into a 95-64 advantage after LaRavia scored with 3:40 remaining. At that point, Wake Forest had made 72% of its shots in the second half. Soon after that the Demon Deacons emptied the bench.

Daivien Williamson scored 15 points, Isaiah Mucius 12 and Alondes Williams 11 for Wake Forest (22-8, 12-7 ACC). LaRavia had seven rebounds, five assists and made 13 of 14 free throws. Walton was 8 of 9 from the field, including 4 for 4 from 3-point distance.

Sydney Curry led Louisville (12-16, 6-12) with 28 points. He made 13 of 18 shots and had seven rebounds off the bench. Noah Locke added 14 points.

Wake Forest broke out to a 22-5 lead in the first eight minutes of the first half. The Demon Deacons made 4 of 5 3-pointers in that run and 9 of 12 overall while Louisville made just 2 of 10 shots.

Louisville recovered and trailed 44-36 at halftime. The Cardinals finished the half at 52% from the field despite making only 2 of 10 3-pointers. Wake Forest finished the half at 52% overall with 6 of 13 3-pointers.

For the game, Wake Forest shot 58%, made 13 of 27 3-pointers and went 22 for 27 from the free-throw line.

With one regular season game remaining — vs. NC State on Wednesday — Wake Forest trails fourth-place Miami (12-6) by half a game in the ACC standings. Miami plays at Boston College on Wednesday and at Syracuse on Saturday.

Louisville plays at Virginia Tech and Tuesday and hosts Virginia on Saturday.

Davidson 66, Fordham 45

DAVIDSON — Luka Brajkovic recorded 15 points and 11 rebounds to lift Davidson to victory over Fordham.

Sam Mennenga had 17 points and nine rebounds for Davidson (24-4, 14-2 Atlantic 10 Conference), which won its fourth consecutive game.

Michael Jones added 12 points. Hyunjung Lee had 10 points.

The Rams’ 24.5% field goal percentage represented the worst mark by a Davidson opponent this season. Additionally, the Wildcats forced a season-high 21 turnovers.

Chuba Ohams had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Rams (13-14, 6-9). Antrell Charlton added seven rebounds.

Elon 67, Northeastern 54

BOSTON — Hunter McIntosh had 21 points as Elon beat Northeastern.

Darius Burford had 15 points for Elon (10-21, 7-11 Colonial Athletic Association). Michael Graham added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Zac Ervin had eight rebounds.

Jason Strong had 14 points for the Huskies (8-21, 2-16). Jahmyl Telfort added 13 points. Nikola Djogo had eight rebounds.

Fla. Atlantic 74, Charlotte 69

CHARLOTTE — Michael Forrest scored 14 points as Florida Atlantic edged Charlotte.

Alijah Martin had 13 points and seven rebounds for Florida Atlantic (16-13, 9-7 Conference USA), which ended its four-game losing streak. Jahmir Young had 26 points for the 49ers (15-13, 8-8). Clyde Trapp Jr. added 13 points. Jackson Threadgill had 10 points.

East Carolina 64, Tulsa 59

GREENVILLE — Tristen Newton had 27 points as East Carolina narrowly beat Tulsa. Players were ejected after flagrant fouls after the clinching free throws by Alexis Reyes at the end of the game.

Vance Jackson had 12 points for East Carolina (15-13, 6-10 American Athletic Conference). Ludgy Debaut added three assists.

The Pirates forced a season-high 20 turnovers.

Darien Jackson had 17 points for the Golden Hurricane (9-18, 3-13). Jeriah Horne added 14 points. Curtis Haywood II had six rebounds.

UNC Asheville 98, Presbyterian 96 (3OT)

ASHEVILLE — LJ Thorpe tied his season high with 28 points — including the go-ahead jumper with 1:27 left — as UNC Asheville narrowly beat Presbyterian in triple overtime.

Tajion Jones had 16 points for UNC Asheville (16-13, 8-8 Big South Conference). Silas Mason added 16 points. Jamon Battle had 14 points.

Coty Jude scored 10 of his 13 point after regulation.

The Bulldogs forced a season-high 25 turnovers.

Rayshon Harrison had 23 points for the Blue Hose (12-19, 4-12). Terrell Ard, Jr. added 14 points. Marquis Barnett had 14 points.

Howard 77, NC Central 67

WASHINGTON — Elijah Hawkins registered 17 points as Howard topped North Carolina Central.

Kyle Foster had 15 points and six rebounds for Howard (15-11, 8-4 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference). Randall Brumant added 11 points. Khalil Robinson also had 11 points.

Eric Boone tied a career high with 29 points for the Eagles (14-13, 8-4). Kris Monroe added 13 points and nine rebounds. Marque Maultsby had 10 points.

Radford 62, NC A&T 53

GREENSBORO — Rashun Williams registered 15 points as Radford beat North Carolina A&T.

Josiah Jeffers had 12 points for Radford (11-17, 7-9 Big South Conference). Chyree Walker added 13 rebounds.

Marcus Watson had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Aggies (11-19, 6-10), who have now lost four straight games. Tyler Maye added 10 points. Kameron Langley had six rebounds.

 

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