ACC scoreboard for Dec. 22
No. 23 North Carolina 97, McNeese State 63: F Reggie Bullock shot 5 of 8 on 3-pointers and North Carolina (9-3) hit 13 of 28 from 3-point range for the game to blow out McNeese State (6-4). The Tar Heels bounced back from Wednesday’s 18-point loss at Texas.
Florida State 79, Charlotte 76: G Michael Snaer returned from a one-game suspension and scored 30 points to lead Florida State (7-4) to a second-half comeback over Charlotte (11-2). The Seminoles trailed by five at the half, but a 10-0 run in the second half put them on top to stay.
Boston College 71, Providence 68: Freshman G Joe Rahon had two assists that led to layups by Ryan Anderson to help Boston College (6-5) hold on to a slim lead over Providence (8-3) and win for the fourth time in five games. Anderson had 24 points and seven rebounds, while freshman G Olivier Hanlan had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
Wake Forest 84, UNC-Greensboro 70: Embattled coach Jeff Bzdelik won his second straight game by double digits as Wake Forest (6-5) closed the first half on a 12-2 run to take the lead for good against UNC-Greensboro (2-8). Bzdelik received a vote of confidence from Wake athletic director Ron Wellman earlier in the week. F Travis McKie paced the Demon Deacons with 19 points.
No. 25 NC State 92, St. Bonaventure 73 : PF Richard Howell fouled out in 12 scoreless minutes, but C.J. Leslie, Lorenzo Brown and Scott Wood picked up the slack as NC State (9-2) won its fifth straight game in a 19-point win over St. Bonaventure (7-4). Leslie had a star-of-the-night performance, while Brown added 11 assists. Wood made his first eight shots, including five straight 3-pointers, to score 23 points.
Georgia Tech 73, The Citadel 41: Georgia Tech (8-2) won its fourth straight game with an overwhelming defensive performance against the Citadel (3-7). G Stacey Poole made his debut for the Yellow Jackets after transferring from Kentucky midway through last season. He had seven points and five rebounds.
Old Dominion 63, Virginia 61: SG Joe Harris had the ball slip out of his hands as he tried a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, and the Cavaliers (9-3) were upset by Old Dominion (2-10) at the Governor’s Holiday Hoops Classic in Richmond. Old Dominion snapped a nine-game losing streak and beat Virginia for the first time in 19 years. Harris led Virginia with 18 points, but Old Dominion G Dimitri Batten scored 23.
Virginia Tech 66, Bradley 65: Virginia Tech (9-2) led for just 2:29 after halftime, but it was enough to beat Bradley (8-3). The Hokies trailed by 10 at the half, 11 in the second half, and by five with 40 seconds left in overtime but PG Erick Green scored five points in five seconds with 0:26 remaining in overtime to give Virginia Tech a one-point win. Green finished with 31 points.
Star of the night: NC State F C.J. Leslie. The junior was the ACC’s preseason Player of the Year, but Leslie was plagued by inconsistency in the season’s first month and a half. Against St. Bonaventure, Leslie had his best all-around performance of the year. He scored a career-high 33 points on 10 of 13 shooting, and added eight rebounds. He also made it to the free-throw line 18 times, making 13. “When Leslie plays the way he played today, they’re hard to beat,” St. Bonaventure coach Mark Schmidt said.
Inside the box score – 3 numbers worth a second look
9 --Assists by North Carolina freshman PG Marcus Paige, a career high. He also had the first turnover-free game of his career. Carolina had assists on 18 of its 20 first-half baskets and 29 of its 35 baskets for the game.
10 -- The number of 3-pointers NC State SG Scott Wood has made in the last two games, on 17 attempts. In the previous nine games, Wood shot just 14 of 40 on 3-pointers.
25.3-- Shooting percentage allowed by Georgia Tech’s defense in a 32-point win over The Citadel. Tech built a 20-3 lead as The Citadel missed nine of its first 10 shots. Tech allowed The Citadel to shoot 19.4 percent in the first half and allowed just 3-of-22 shooting on 3-pointers in the game.
Saturday’s quote of the day: North Carolina coach Roy Williams on the Tar Heels shooting 47 percent in a win over McNeese State, three days after shooting 31 percent in a loss to Texas -- “Everything looks better when the ball goes in the basket.”
Saturday’s tweets of the day:
Virginia Tech announcer Bill Roth
Virginia Tech blog GobblerCountry.com
Dec. 23 games
You don’t want to miss: Miami vs. Hawaii in the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, 12:30 a.m ET (ESPNU)-- The Hurricanes (7-1) open the Diamond Head tournament against host Hawaii (5-3). After a stunning loss to Florida Gulf Coast in the second game of the season, Miami has won six straight. The Hurricanes have five players averaging double figures in scoring, led by G Durand Scott’s 15.6. Scott missed the Florida Gulf Coast loss.
Other ACC games
South Carolina State at Clemson, 2 p.m. ET (ESPN3)
Miami vs. TBD in the second round of the Diamond Head Classic, time TBA (ESPNU/ESPN2)
Virginia Tech in second round of Las Vegas Classic, time TBA (CBS Sports Network)
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from ACC bloggers Shawn Krest and Sean Bielawski, follow @CBSSportsACC.