ACC rallies, but Big Ten takes Challenge by tight 6-5 margin
After going 1-6 Tuesday, the first night of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the Atlantic Coast Conference bounced back Wednesday night with a 4-0 mark. The wins by Clemson, Florida State, Pittsburgh and Georgia Tech reduced the Big Ten’s edge to 6-5 overall in the annual showcase.
Three games — Michigan State at Virginia, N.C. State at Michigan and Louisville at Wisconsin — were abandoned because of coronavirus concerns with the ACC’s Cavaliers, Wolfpack and Cardinals, respectively.
LATE WEDNESDAY No. 20 Florida State 69, Indiana 67
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Freshman Scottie Barnes banked in a running shot with with two seconds left in overtime to give Florida State its 25th straight home victory. He had nine points, five assists, four rebounds and four steals for the Seminoles (2-0). Clemson 67, Maryland 51
CLEMSON, S.C. — Aamir Simms scored 16 points, while Al-Amir Dawes and John Newman III each added 12 for the Tigers (4-0).
Georgia Tech 75, Nebraska 64
LINCOLN, Neb. — Jose Alvarado scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half to lead the Yellow Jackets (2-2) past the Cornhuskers (3-2), who got 20 points from Kobe Webster.
Pittsburgh 71, Northwestern 70
EVANSTON, Ill. — Xavier Johnson scored 21 points and fed Justin Champagnie f or the winning dunk with 5.6-seconds to play, giving the Panthers (3-1) their only lead of the night.
No. 19 Richmond 78, N. Iowa 68
RICHMOND — Tyler Burton had 21 points and 13 rebounds, Grant Golden had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Jacob Gilyard had 12 points and 11 assists for the Spiders (4-0).
VCU 95, N.C. A&T 59
RICHMOND — Sophomore Bones Hyland registered career highs in points (30) and 3-pointers (seven) as the Rams (4-2) routed the Aggies (2-6).
Missouri 69, Liberty 60
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Mark Smith scored 12 of his 17 points after halftime for the Tigers (4-0).
Women Virginia Tech 88, Pittsburgh 71
BLACKSBURG — Cayla King had 29 points and six rebounds for the Hokies (6-0, 1-0 ACC), who overcame a 48-40 halftime deficit against the Panthers (2-2, 0-1). Tech outscored Pitt 25-8 in the
fourth quarter.
Clemson 71, Virginia 55
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Despite Amandine Toi’s career-high 23 points, the Cavaliers (0-4), with only seven available players because of injuries and other problems, fell to the Tigers (6-0) in an ACC opener. Gabby Elliott had 10 points and nine rebounds for Clemson, which went on a 7-0 run for a 15-10 lead and was ahead thereafter.
LATE WEDNESDAY Liberty 67, Hampton 45
LYNCHBURG — Nylah Young scored a game-high 15 points, but a cold-shooting night doomed Hampton University in its season opener.
The Flames (2-3) rallied from a first-quarter deficit and limited the Pirates to 15-of-69 shooting (21.3%). HU made just 3 of 22 3-pointers.
Bridgette Rettstatt led Liberty with 12 points off the bench, making 5 of 8 field-goal attempts to help the Flames shoot 49% (29 for 59).
The Pirates scored nine of the game’s first 11 points and led 11-5 after the opening quarter. But Liberty’s Makaela Kestner hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left before half to give the Flames a 24-17 lead at the break, and Liberty outscored HU 27-12 in the third quarter.