| Duke F Ryan Kelly had 14 points and 10 rebounds against Temple Saturday. (US Presswire) |
ACC scoreboard for Dec. 8
No. 25 NC State 80, Cleveland State 63: NC State (6-2) opened up a 15-point halftime lead and cruised to a nonconference win over Cleveland State (6-3) in a game played in the old Reynolds Coliseum. F C.J. Leslie led five Wolfpack players in double figures with 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting while also pulling down eight rebounds. F Richard Howell had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and F T.J. Warren had 16 points off the bench. As a team, NC State shot 54 percent from the field. G Charlie Lee had 15 points to lead Cleveland State.
Maryland 61, South Carolina State 46: C Alex Len had 13 points and six rebounds to lead Maryland (8-1) to a 61-46 home win over South Carolina State (4-5). The Terrapins shot just 37.3 percent from the floor and 22.7 percent from three as they won their eighth consecutive game. Maryland outrebounded South Carolina State 39-30. G Louie Adams had a game-high 15 points to lead the Bulldogs, who shot just 27.1 percent (10 for 37) from inside the 3-point line.
Boston College 72, St. Francis (N.Y.) 64: Boston College (4-5) outscored St. Francis (2-5) by 10 points in the second half to get a win in Chestnut Hill. The Terriers led the Eagles 48-39 with 15:35 left in the second half, but Boston College then went on an 11-0 run to take a lead it would not relinquish. G Patrick Heckmann had 18 points to lead the Eagles, while G Olivier Hanlan and G Lonnie Jackson each had 13. F Jalen Cannon had a game-high 23 points and 13 rebounds for St. Francis.
No. 2 Duke 90, Temple 67: G Seth Curry returned to the lineup Saturday and scored a game-high 23 points as Duke (9-0) beat Temple (6-1) in a battle of unbeatens in East Rutherford, N.J. Curry missed last Saturday’s game against Delaware with an ankle injury. He was 5 for 9 on 3-pointers, and the Blue Devils made 12 of 20 attempts from beyond the arc as a team. C Mason Plumlee had 16 points and 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season while F Ryan Kelly had 14 points and 10 rebounds. G Quenton DeCosey had 13 points to lead the Owls, who attempted just four free throws all game.
| West Virginia G Juwan Staten hits the game-winner against Virginia Tech Saturday. (AP) |
West Virginia 68, Virginia Tech 67: G Juwan Staten made a layup with five seconds left to give West Virginia (4-3) a 68-67 home win over Virginia Tech (7-1). The Hokies took the lead with 18 seconds to go when G Robert Brown banked home a deep three from the right wing, but they still ended up with their first loss of the season. PG Erick Green had 23 points and 10 assists to lead the Hokies while Brown added 21. Virginia Tech was just 5 for 18 from three and was outrebounded 49-38, giving up 23 offensive rebounds to West Virginia. C Aaric Murray had 15 points to lead the Mountaineers.
Virginia 67, Mississippi Valley State 39: Virginia (8-2) never trailed Saturday as it cruised to a nonconference victory over Mississippi Valley State (0-5), 67-39. The Cavaliers held the Delta Devils to 19 percent shooting, and Mississippi Valley State managed to make just three of its 23 three-point attempts. F Akil Mitchell led the Cavaliers with 20 points, tying a career high, and freshman G Justin Anderson came off the bench to set career highs with 15 points and seven rebounds. Virginia has won seven in a row after starting the season 1-2.
Georgia Tech 73, UNC Wilmington 66: Georgia Tech (6-2) held UNC Wilmington (4-5) without a field goal over the final 5:22, and the Yellow Jackets outscored the Seahawks 16-4 over that stretch to win 73-66. Freshman F Robert Carter, Jr. had career highs of 19 points and nine rebounds to lead Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have struggled at times offensively this season, but they shot 52.9 percent from the floor Saturday night. They also had 18 assists on 27 made field goals. G Chris Dixon had a game-high 20 points to lead the Seahawks.
Seton Hall 71, Wake Forest 67: Wake Forest (4-5) led Seton Hall (7-2) by 12 points with 10:23 to play, but the Demon Deacons let the lead slip away to lose for the third time in four games. Wake Forest had the ball with 31 seconds left, leading 68-67, but the Demon Deacons had their inbounds pass stolen by Seton Hall F Brandon Mobley, who dunked the ball with 28 seconds left to give the Pirates the lead. G C.J. Harris had a season-high 28 points and was 7 for 10 from three to lead Wake Forest. F Travis McKie added 16 points and seven rebounds for Wake Forest. G Fuquan Edwin had 24 points for Seton Hall.
No. 20 North Carolina 78, East Tennessee State 55: North Carolina (7-2) opened up a 34-4 lead in the first 15:10 of the game and easily defeated East Tennessee State (4-5) Saturday night. G Leslie McDonald had 14 points while freshman Brice Johnson added 12 for the Tar Heels, who had 11 different players log at least 10 minutes. North Carolina forced the Buccaneers into 22 turnovers and 33 percent shooting. G Rashawn Rembert had a game-high 18 points for East Tennessee State.
No. 8 Arizona 66, Clemson 54: Arizona (7-0) used a 20-2 run late in the second half to overcome a three-point deficit and beat Clemson (5-3) on the road Saturday night. The Wildcats outrebounded the Tigers 42-26 and made 17 of 20 free throws. G Mark Lyons had 20 points while G Nick Johnson added 13 for Arizona. Clemson was led by F Milton Jennings, who returned from a two-game suspension to score 15 points on 5-for-7 shooting. F K.J. McDaniels had 13 points for the Tigers but made just five of his 14 shots. Clemson had 12 blocks in defeat.
Star of the night: Leslie, NC State. Leslie was tabbed the preseason player of the year in the conference, but he got off to a slow start this season. He has started to come around, averaging 16.3 points and 10.5 rebounds in the last four games. On Saturday against Cleveland State, Leslie put in a season-high 19 points. He had 13 points and six rebounds in the first half as the Wolfpack opened up a 47-32 halftime lead.
Inside the box score -- 3 numbers worth a second look
78.3 -- NC State shot 78.3 percent from the free-throw line in its win over Cleveland State, making 18 of 23 attempts. The Wolfpack were shooting just 61.7 percent in their first seven games. Two of NC State’s misses Saturday came from F S<player idref=, who was shooting 92.3 percent on the season.
16 -- Maryland missed 16 of its 21 3-point attempts in Saturday’s win over South Carolina State, and the Terrapins scored a season-low 61 points. Maryland was shooting 33.9 percent on 3-pointers heading into Saturday, which was 10th in the ACC. Outside shooting is the one glaring weakness for the Terps.
7:38 -- Clemson went 7:38 without a field goal late in the second half, and Arizona went on a 20-2 run in between to pull away. The Tigers can go through rough stretches offensively, and this one came at the most inopportune time, preventing them from picking up a big time nonconference win.
Saturday’s quote of the day: Duke's Plumlee on his team's balance, according to Laura Keeley of the News & Observer: “We have five guys that can go off in any game, and that's really hard to defend. Because when teams scout us, what do you take away?”
Dec. 9 games
Maine at Florida State, 4 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from ACC bloggers Shawn Krest and Sean Bielawski, follow @CBSSportsACC.