Associated Press

GREENSBORO — Alyssa Ustby scored 15 points with six rebounds, four assists and two steals and 18th-ranked North Carolina, the seventh-seed, pulled away from Clemson for a 68-58 win the second round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday.

The Tar Heels (21-9) now face 13th-ranked and second-seeded Duke on Friday in the quarterfinals. The teams met last Sunday with North Carolina rallying for a 45-41 win.

Deja Kelly scored 14 points, Eva Hodgson 13 and Kennedy Todd-Williams 12 for the balanced Tar Heels, who kept the Tigers at bay despite entering the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead and Kelly and Ustby with four fouls each.

Amari Robinson tied her career high with 27 points on 9-of-12 shooting for the Tigers (17-15).

North Carolina was just 7 of 14 from the foul line in the fourth quarter but Clemson was 5-of-14 shooting and had five turnovers.

It was 40-32 at the half and the Tigers went down 14 in the third quarter before scoring seven straight points to cut into the lead.

Wake Forest overcomes 18-point halftime deficit, beats FSU

GREENSBORO (AP) — Jewel Spear scored all 19 of her points in the second half to help No. 12 seed Wake Forest overcome an 18-point halftime deficit and beat fifth-seeded Florida State 65-54 on Thursday in the second round of the ACC Tournament.

It was the second-largest halftime comeback in ACC Tournament history. Wake Forest, which plays fourth-seeded Louisville in the quarterfinals on Friday, scored 49 points in the second half after just 16 in the first.

Wake Forest scored two points in the second quarter and trailed 34-16 at halftime. Florida State kept it rolling early in the second half as O’Mariah Gordon’s fast-break layup extended the lead to 20 points. But the Seminoles didn’t make another field goal the rest of the quarter and Wake Forest closed on an 18-0 run.

Spear, who was 0 of 8 from the field in the first half, made back-to-back 3-pointers to begin the fourth quarter and Wake extended its scoring run to 26-straight points for a 53-42 lead. The Seminoles missed 18 straight shots. Wake Forest led by at least seven points the rest of the way.

Olivia Summiel had 13 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Wake Forest (16-15). Demeara Hinds added 12 points, nine rebounds and four steals and Elise Williams had 10 points and seven boards.

Wake Forest will look for a season sweep of Louisville after Spear scored 34 points on Jan. 25 in a 68-57 victory over the Cardinals.

Makayla Timpson had 14 points and nine rebounds and Erin Howard and Gordon each scored 12 for Florida State (23-9), which had a string of 10-straight quarterfinal appearances snapped.

Florida State was without ACC rookie of the year Ta’Niya Latson, averaging 21.3 points, due to a day-to-day injury.

N.C. State women dominate inside, top Syracuse 83-58

  GREENSBORO (AP) — Jakia Brown-Turner and Camille Hobby scored 16 points apiece and eighth-seeded North Carolina State pulled away from ninth-seeded Syracuse 83-58 in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday.

It was also the 800th career win for N.C. State coach Wes Moore.

The three-time defending champion Wolfpack (20-10) ran their tournament winning streak to 10 heading into a Friday quarterfinal matchup with league champion Notre Dame. The Wolfpack won the only meeting this year, 69-65 on Jan. 29.

River Baldwin scored 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting as North Carolina State shot 61% (34 of 65). Aziaha James and Madison Hayes both had 10 points.

The Wolfpack was without leading scorer Diamond Johnson, who has a foot injury and is expected to be ready for the NCAA Tournament. In her absence N.C. State had a season-high 54 points in the paint, 30 more than Syracuse.

Teisha Hyman scored 15 points and Georgia Woolley 14 for the Orange (18-12), who are on the NCAA bubble. Dyaisha Fair and Dariauna Lewis both added 11. Syracuse was 3 of 20 from 3-point range and shot 33% overall.

N.C. State led 32-26 at the half and 55-44 after three quarters but shot 10 of 16 in the fourth quarter while the Orange were 3 of 18.

Moore is 800-248 in his career, 242-79 with the Wolfpack in 10 years.

MEN

South Alabama 68, Appalachian State 61

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) — Isaiah Moore had 20 points and South Alabama beat Appalachian State 68-61 on Thursday in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.

Moore added five rebounds and seven assists for the Jaguars (17-15). Owen White scored 14 points while going 5 of 9 (3 for 5 from distance). Kevin Samuel finished 6 of 8 from the floor to finish with 12 points. The Jaguars picked up their sixth straight victory.

The Mountaineers (16-16) were led in scoring by Terence Harcum, who finished with 17 points. CJ Huntley added 13 points for Appalachian State.

 

Detroit Mercy guard just short of becoming NCAA’s scoring leader

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio —   Youngstown State defeated Detroit Mercy 71-66 in the Horizon League Tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday night leaving Antoine Davis  just short of “Pistol”  Pete Maravich’s NCAA career scoring record.

Davis, in his fifth year with the eighth-seeded Titans (14-19), finished with 22 points, three points shy of the record 3,667 Maravich scored in three seasons at LSU (1967-70). Davis was 7-of-26 shooting, including 4 of 16 from 3-point range. He missed his final seven shots.

Davis has 159 3-pointers this season, three short of Stephen Curry’s record set at Davidson (2007-08).

Youngstown State’s 24 victories ties the program record and is the first time the Penguins won that many in Division I. The Penguins swept all three meetings with the Titans this season, but this was the closest margin.

The scoring record was once considered untouchable.

Davis leads the nation with a 28.4 points per game average.

Wearing a protective mask to protect a broken nose sustained earlier this season at Cincinnati, Davis started slowly in front of a sellout crowd inside Beeghly Center on Youngstown State’s campus.

The rail-thin graduate senior missed his first four shots before dropping an off-balance jumper from the top of the key with 14:01 left in the half. He followed with a 3-pointer and also made a baseline fadeaway.

Davis scored 38 on Tuesday night in a win over Purdue Fort Wayne to advance.

Just weeks after LeBron James went past Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s career scoring leader, Davis had a chance to top Maravich, the Hall of Famer his father had him study while learning to play as a kid.

A gifted shooter and scorer, the smooth 6-foot-1 Davis will had his work cut out to break the record since the Penguins held him to 15 points on Jan. 29 at Youngstown State. He also dropped 32 on them in the first meeting this season.

Davis already holds several NCAA records, including consecutive games in double figures (143) and 3-pointers (584).

Davis has scored 3,642 points in 142 games while it took Maravich just 83 to get 3,667 during three seasons for the Tigers when he was known as much for a shaggy haircut and droopy socks as his on-court wizardry. Unlike Davis, who was granted a fifth year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Maravich didn’t play as a freshman — it wasn’t allowed at the time — and there was also no 3-point line or shot clock, placing a premium on every possession.

Maravich died in 1988 at age 40.