BLACKSBURG, Va. — Kerry Blackshear Jr. called Virginia Tech’s game against No. 10 North Carolina a “really big character test,” coming on the heels of a loss at home against Florida State.
That was a game, Black-shear said, in which the Hokies “really didn’t just come to play.”
They passed this test with flying colors.
Justin Robinson scored 19 points, Ahmed Hill had 18 and the Hokies pulled away in the second half to beat the Tar Heels 80-69 on Monday night.
Blackshear added 16 points for Virginia Tech (14-6, 3-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), which used a 13-3 run after the Tar Heels closed to within three to open a 64-51 advantage with just under eight minutes remaining. North Carolina never got closer than eight again.
Hill scored the first seven points in the decisive burst.
“We just tried to grind it out. We felt like we had some good possessions. Shots weren’t falling, but that’s OK,” Hill said. “We just tried to base our momentum on stops and we got a few stops that allowed us to get a couple of transition baskets, allowed us to let our offense start flowing.”
Joel Berry and Luke Maye scored 23 points each for the Tar Heels (16-5, 5-3).
TCU 82,
NO. 7 WEST VIRGINIA 73
FORT WORTH — Desmond Bane scored eight of his 15 points in just over a minute early in the second half, and TCU beat No. 7 West Virginia.
The Horned Frogs (15-5, 3-5 Big 12 Conference) got their first home victory over a Top 10 team in nearly five years on the same day they dropped out of the AP Top 25 to end an eight-week run as a ranked team.
Jevon Carter had 16 points and Sagaba Konate 14 for West Virginia (16-4, 5-3), which lost for the third time in four games. Daxter Miles Jr. had 12 points, Lamont West 11 and Wesley Harris 10.
Alex Robinson had 17 points, 9 assists and 7 rebounds for TCU, and Kouat Noi had 13 points with 3 three-pointers before being ejected because of a flagrant foul with just over 10 minutes left. Vladimir Brodziansky had 14 points, and Kenrich Williams had 14 rebounds.
In another men’s Top 25 game Monday, Miles Bridges scored 31 points, Jaren Jackson Jr. had 21 points and 11 rebounds and No. 6 Michigan State (18-3, 6-2 Big Ten Conference) defeated Illinois (10-11, 0-8) 87-74 in Champaign, Ill. ... Keita Bates-Diop scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half and No. 13 Ohio State (18-4, 9-0 Big Ten Conference) beat Nebraska (14-8, 5-4) 64-59 in Columbus, Ohio. It was the Buckeyes’ fourth victory in the past eight days.
SEC/TOP 25 WOMEN
NO. 15 TEXAS A&M 69,
LSU 59
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Anriel Howard had 21 points and 14 rebounds and No. 15 Texas A&M overcame a three-point halftime deficit to beat LSU. Khaalia Hillsman added 14 points and Jasmine Lumpkin had 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Aggies (16-5, 5-2 SEC).
Texas A&M trailed 26-23 at halftime and took control with a 15-4 run to lead 46-38 late in the third quarter. Carter’s first field goal of the game capped a 6-0 run to extend the lead to 10 early in the fourth quarter and a Kayla Wells three-point play with five minutes left gave Texas A&M its largest lead at 61-50. Raigyne Louis had 18 points, Chloe Jackson added 14 and Ayana Mitchell 13 for the Tigers (12-6, 4-3).
In another women’s Top 25 game Monday, Kalia Charles scored a career-high 32 points and No. 14 Maryland (17-3, 6-1 Big Ten) cruised past 12th-ranked Ohio State (16-4, 5-2) 99-69 in College Park, Md.
SWAC MEN
ARK.-PINE BLUFF 74,
TEXAS SOUTHERN 72
Martaveous McKnight hit a three-pointer with 2.9 seconds left, then made two free throws to give the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (7-14, 7-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) a come-from-behind victory over Texas Southern (4-16, 4-3) on Monday in Houston.
The Golden Lions trailed 72-69 with 17 seconds remaining, but McKnight’s three-pointer tied the game at 72-72 and he was fouled by Donte Clark. Texas Southern Coach Mike Davis received a technical foul after the shot, which sent McKnight to the free-throw line. McKnight missed the free throw from the foul on the three-pointer, but he made two free throws from the technical to make it 74-72 UAPB.
Lamont Walker’s three-point attempt for the Panthers did not fall, and the Golden Lions held on for the victory.
UAPB has won seven consecutive games since losing its first 14. Texas Southern’s 27-game home winning streak, the second longest in the nation was snapped.
McKnight finished with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. Charles Jackson led UAPB with 25 points and Trent Steen had 14 points.
SWAC WOMEN
TEXAS SOUTHERN 58,
ARK.-PINE BLUFF 52
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff women’s basketball team lost its sixth consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference game Monday night, falling to Texas Southern in Houston.
Joyce Kennerson and Kaitlyn Palmer each scored 18 points for the Lady Panthers.
Both teams struggled from the floor, with UAPB shooting 32.7 percent (18 of
55) to Texas Southern’s 30.8 percent (16 of 52). The Lady Lions and Lady Panthers each had 19 turnovers.
Texas Southern (10-8, 5-2 SWAC) led 17-9 at the end of the first quarter, 27-19 at halftime and 43-32 at the end of the third quarter.
Destiny Brewton and Faith Ohanta led UAPB (3-14, 1-6) with 11 points apiece. Shawntayla Harris added 10 points and nine rebounds.
VIRGINIA TECH 80, NO. 10 NORTH CAROLINA 69
Sports on 01/23/2018