Franklin’s big first half lifts Cavaliers
Armaan Franklin scored 15 of his 22 points in the first half to help Virginia cruise to a 71-58 victory over Miami on Saturday.
Virginia (14-9, 8-5) has won five straight against Miami (16-7, 8-4).
Franklin hit a deep 3-pointer from the top of the arc to close the first half and Virginia led 35-26. The Cavaliers shot 62.5% (15 of 24) from the field and Franklin made three of their five 3-pointers in the half.
A Kihei Clark 3-pointer, Franklin’s pull-up jumper and Kadin Shedrick’s dunk capped a 7-0 surge and the Cavs extended their lead to 57-40 with about 10 minutes left. Clark’s 3-pointer gave the Cavs a 20-point lead with 4:33 remaining.
Franklin was 8 of 16 from the field and matched a career high with four steals. Jayden Gardner added 12 points and Clark scored 11, making three 3-pointers. Reece Beekman had 10 assists, one shy of his career best, to go with nine points.
The Cavs finished with 23 assists, shot 60% (30 of 50) overall and made 8 of 15 from long range.
Kameron McGusty scored 21 points to lead Miami, which shot 54% (27 of 50) from the field. Charlie Moore added 17 points.
The Cavaliers had held the Hurricanes to 54 or fewer points in the previous five matchups. The Hurricanes scored the last eight points of this game with about a minute left to surpass 54.
Twelve of the previous 13 meetings had been decided by 10 points or less.
Virginia, which has won three of its past four games, plays at ninthranked Duke on Monday.
Notre Dame 69, NC State 57: Paul Atkinson and Dane Goodwin posted double-doubles and Notre Dame (16-7, 9-3) recovered after blowing a 17-point first-half lead to beat North Carolina State (10-14, 3-10) in Raleigh.
Atkinson had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Goodwin 12 points and 10 boards. Blake Wesley added 14 points, Prentiss Hubb 13 and Trey Wertz 12 for Notre Dame.
Nate Laszewski, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Fighting Irish over the Wolfpack 73-65 on Jan. 26, was scoreless after suffering a lower-leg contusion early and didn’t return.
Terquavion Smith scored 19 points to lead the Wolfpack, while former Lake Taylor High star Dereon Sebbron added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Wake Forest 68, Florida State 60: Jake LaRavia had a near triple-double, Alondes Williams scored 23 points, Damari Monsanto hit a clutch 3-pointer and Wake Forest defeated Florida State in Tallahassee for the Seminoles’ fourth consecutive loss.
LaRavia had 18 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists, barely missing out on a triple-double one game after Williams was also one assist shy of a triple-double. Isaiah Mucius added 10 points for the Demon Deacons (19-5, 9-4).
Caleb Mills led the Seminoles (13-9, 6-6) with 15 points. Florida State has dropped two straight at home.
Syracuse 92, Louisville 69: Buddy Boeheim and Jesse Edwards scored 19 points apiece and Joe Girard III scored 15 as host Syracuse (12-11, 6-6) dumped Louisville (11-12, 5-8) for the Orange’s third straight win.
Louisville has dropped five straight. Syracuse started the game shooting 9 for 10 and never trailed. Syracuse led 11-10 before going on a 14-4 run in a three-minute span and went up 25-14 with 12:37 before halftime.
Reserves Jaelyn Withers scored 13 points and El Ellis and Samuell Williamson 10 apiece for Louisville.
Georgia Tech 69, Clemson 64: Deivon Smith came off the Georgia Tech bench to score 16 points and dish six assists and the Yellow Jackets (10-12, 3-8) had to hold on late in Atlanta to post an upset win over Clemson (12-10, 4-7) for just their third victory in their first 11 ACC games.
Georgia Tech started fast, building a 13-point lead at intermission, but the Tigers battled back late. Al-Amir Dawes hits three 3s in the final seven minutes to pull Clemson within six and David Collins hit a jumper to make it a fourpoint game, then cut the deficit to three with two free throws with 20 seconds left, 67-64, but the Tigers missed two 3-point attempts in the closing seconds.
Clemson was without Hunter Tyson, who is out indefinitely with a broken clavicle.