No. 1 CNU cruises past Wheaton; streak at 35
Hampton falls at home on a buzzer-beater
Christopher Newport, recently anointed as the nation’s No. 1 team in Division III, beat the Wheaton Thunder 69-53 Saturday in Illinois.
The Captains improved to 18-0 for the season and increased their winning streak, the longest current one in NCAA basketball at any level, to 35 games. Wheaton fell to 14-7.
Eleven CNU players scored, led by Anaya Simmons with 12 points and Phylicia McInnis with 11. Simmons had nine rebounds and three assists, and Gabbi San Diego had four steals.
After trailing some of the first quarter, the Captains built a double-digit lead in the second quarter and maintained it.
USC Upstate 60, Hampton 58: Rachael Rose broke a tie with a putback at the final buzzer at the HU Convocation Center, lifting the Spartans (16-5, 8-2 Big South) to their second victory over the Pirates (7-11, 3-5) in three days.
Chellia Watson had 29 points for Upstate. Nylah Young had 19 points, six rebounds and three steals for HU.
The Pirates took their last lead, 53-52, with 2:15 to go on a Jermany Mapp jumper. Watson’s three-point play put the Spartans ahead 55-53 with 1:58 to go, but HU pulled even when Nas Nigatu sank a 3-pointer at the 14-second mark. Upstate failed on its first two chances on the final possession before Rose’s decisive play.
Norfolk State 102, Delaware State 36: Camille Downs had
22 points, seven assists and eight steals as the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference-leading Spartans (9-7, 5-0) scored 67 points in the middle quarters to zoom past the Hornets (0-13, 0-4).
Delaware State had 41 turnovers to NSU’s eight. The Spartans hit half of their shots (40 of 80) and were 15 of 37 from 3-point territory. DSU was 1 of 8 from beyond the arc.
The Spartans’ Deja Francis had 21 points and five steals, Niya Fields had 15 points and four steals, Janay Turner had 12 points and Mahoganie Williams had 10 points.
Warren Wilson 74, Apprentice 40: The Builders (2-10, 1-4 Eastern Metro Athletic Conference) saw their two-game winning streak end with a loss to the Owls (6-13, 4-3) in Asheville, North Carolina. It was Warren Wilson’s second victory over Apprentice this season; the Owls beat the Builders 74-54 Jan. 28.
Johnson & Wales 64, Regent 39: The Wildcats (13-2), from Charlotte,NorthCarolina,earned their ninth victory in a row by
beating the Royals at Churchland High in Portsmouth. Regent, which has lost nine consecutive games, fell to 1-11.
Roanoke 75, Virginia Wesleyan 39: Rose Sande scored 14 points and Ayanna Scarborough had 13 as the Maroons (16-4, 11-2 ODAC) mastered the Marlins (3-17, 0-13) at TowneBank Arena in Virginia Beach.
Lenah Clements had eight points for VWU, which hit 30.4% (17 of 56) from the field and committed 29 turnovers. Roanoke scored 18 consecutive points for a 31-11 lead.
Campbell 58, Longwood 45: Luana Serranho scored 18 points and Taya Bolden had 13 points and 15 rebounds for the Camels (16-5, 10-2), who led the Lancers (12-11, 9-3) for the last 32 minutes of their Big South clash in Farmville and ended their five-game winning streak.
Akila Smith had 18 points and nine rebounds for Longwood, while Ocean Lakes High alum Kyla McMakin had 11 points on 3-of-13 shooting. The Lancers hit just 30.8% (16 of 52).