Hokies hammer Wake via second-half surge
Tech outscores Deacs 50-30 in final 20 minutes
Hunter Cattoor scored 26 points as Virginia Tech played one of its more impressive games of a thus-far disappointing season, defeating Wake Forest 87-76 Saturday at Cassell Coliseum.
Lynn Kidd had 21 points and nine rebounds, Sean Pedulla had 15 points and six assists and MJ Collins had 11 points and five assists for the Hokies (16-10, 8-10 ACC), who shot 59.6% (34 of 57).
They trailed by as many as 12 points in a first half that ended with Wake ahead 46-37.
An 18-6 surge gave the Hokies a 64-56 lead on a Cattoor 3-pointer with 10:36 to go. They remained ahead by at least six after that, outscoring Wake 50-30 in the second half.
Kevin “Boopie” Miller led the Demon Deacons (18-11, 10-8) with 21 points, but Wake saw its NCAA hopes take a slight hit despite shooting 50% (29 of 58). Efton Reid had 13 points, nine rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
More ACC
No. 9 North Carolina 79, North Carolina State 70:
Harrison Ingram scored a season-high 22 points as North Carolina rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half and beat North Carolina State in Chapel Hill.
Elliot Cadeau scored 15 points and RJ Davis, who put up a Smith Center-record 42 points Monday night against Miami, finished with 14 after being held to two in the first half. Armando Bacot added 13 points for North Carolina (23-6, 15-3), which won its fourth straight game and maintained its hold on first place in the conference, ahead of Duke.
Jayden Taylor hit five 3-pointers and finished with 22 points, and DJ Horne scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half for N.C. State (17-12, 9-9), which lost for the third time in four games.
Georgia Tech 85, Florida State 76:
Kyle Sturdivant scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half, and the Yellow Jackets (13-16, 6-12) won their final home game. Jamir Watkins scored 15 points for the Seminoles (15-14, 9-9).
Top 25
No. 12 Creighton 89, No. 5 Marquette 75:
Baylor Scheierman scored 26 points and made three straight 3-pointers late in the game to help the Bluejays beat Marquette, which played without star guard Tyler Kolek and big man Oso Ighodaro.
Scheierman, a Big East Player of the Year candidate who was playing his final game at CHI Health Center, had 16 rebounds for his eighth double-double in 10 games and 14th of the season.
Creighton (22-8, 13-6) avenged a 72-67 loss in Milwaukee on Dec. 30 and kept itself in position for the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament in two weeks.
Marquette (22-7, 13-5) lost for the first time in four games.
No. 6 Arizona 103, Oregon 83: Caleb Love scored 22 points, Oumar Ballo had his ninth straight double-double and Arizona closed out the Pac-12 era at McKale Center.
The Wildcats (23-6, 14-4) honored their five seniors in a pregame ceremony and rode the good vibes to a dominating start against the Ducks (19-10, 11-7).
No. 8 Iowa State 60, UCF 52: Tre King had 16 points and visiting Iowa State (23-6, 12-4 Big 12) had a late 11-0 run to beat UCF (15-13, 6-10) for its third straight victory and seventh in eight games.
No. 11 Auburn 78, Mississippi State 63: Johni Broome had 17 points,
Denver Jones scored 15 and Auburn (22-7, 11-5 SEC) posted a home win over MSU (19-10, 8-8).
No. 13 Illinois 91, Wisconsin 83:
Marcus Domask scored 31 points, Terrence Shannon Jr. added 23 and visiting Illinois (22-7, 13-5 Big Ten) continued its recent mastery of Wisconsin (18-11, 10-8) by defeating the slumping Badgers. Illinois has won its past six matchups with Wisconsin.
No. 15 Baylor 82, No. 7 Kansas 74:
RayJ Dennis had 19 points and 10 assists and Jayden Nunn scored 18 points with consecutive fast-break layups in a key run for Baylor (21-8, 10-6 Big 12) as the host Bears beat Kansas (21-8, 9-7).
No. 16 Kentucky 111, Arkansas 102:
Rob Dillingham scored 11 of his 15 points in the final 6:33 and Kentucky rallied for a home victory.
The Razorbacks (14-15, 5-11 SEC) led 86-77 with 8 ½ minutes remaining, but the Wildcats (21-8, 11-5) stormed back with a 21-6 burst to open a 98-92 lead.
No. 18 South Carolina 82, No. 24 Florida 76:
Meechie Johnson scored 25 points, including a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 43.4 seconds to play.
The host nGamecocks (24-5, 12-4 SEC) trailed 56-46 with 12 minutes to play, but behind Johnson and Collin Murray-Boyles, they turned things around with a 26-12 surge. Walter Clayton Jr. had 20 points and Zyon Pullin 18 for the Gators (20-9, 10-6).
No. 25 South Florida 76, Charlotte 61:
Chris Youngblood scored 17 points, Kasean Pryor had 16 points and nine rebounds and South Florida (22-5, 15-1 American Athletic) won at Charlotte (17-11, 11-5) for its 14th consecutive victory. Selton Miguel chipped in with 13 points for the Bulls, who haven’t lost since Jan. 7.
State/military
Duquesne 59, George Mason 51:
Dae Dae Grant had 13 points as Duquesne (18-11, 8-8 Atlantic 10) defeated the Patriots (18-11, 7-9) in Fairfax.
UNC Asheville 71, Radford 62:
Drew Pember’s 25 points helped visiting UNC Asheville (20-11, 12-4 Big South) defeat Radford (15-16, 5-11).
Corey Tripp had 17 points to lead visiting Wofford (17-14, 10-8 Southern) past VMI (4-27, 1-17).
Wofford 74, VMI 62:
Jordan Pennick and Austin Benigni scored 16 points apiece as Navy (12-17, 8-10 Patriot) beat American (16-15, 10-8) in Washington.
Navy 71, American 65: Late Friday
James Madison 86, Coastal Carolina 76:
Sun Belt Player of the Year candidate Terrence Edwards Jr. had 18 points and six assists for the Dukes (28-3, 15-3), who won in Conway, South Carolina, for their 10th consecutive victory. They wrapped up the No. 2 seed in next week’s conference tournament in Pensacola, Florida, and will move directly to the quarterfinals.
Loyola Chicago 77, No. 21 Dayton 72:
Des Watson scored 24 points and Braden Norris made two crucial 3-pointers down the stretch, finishing with 19 points and 11 assists as the Ramblers (21-8, 13-3 Atlantic 10) won at home over the Flyers (22-6, 12-4).
No. 22 Utah State 72, Air Force 60:
Ian Martinez scored 21 to help the Aggies (24-5, 12-4 Mountain West) win their third straight game.