ACC Weekend Hoops: Cavs top Hokies in ACC opener

Cavaliers Open ACC Play By Beating Virginia Tech: Mike Scott scored 21 points and Assane Sene made two big baskets in the final minutes Sunday night, leading Virginia to a 57-54 victory over Virginia Tech at Blacksburg.

The Cavaliers (5-3), coming off a victory at No. 15 Minnesota in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, led throughout in beating Virginia Tech for the second time in seven meetings.

The Hokies (4-4) lost their third straight despite 26 points from Malcolm Delaney.

Sene scored only four points, but scored inside with 3:47 to go, giving Virginia a 51-46 lead, and then again with 1:18 to play, after the Hokies had closed to within 51-49.

Victor Davila's basket made it 53-51 with 19.4 seconds left, but Jeff Allen was called for an intentional foul on a breakaway for Scott, and he made both free throws. Virginia also got the ball, and Mustapha Farrakhan's two free throws with 16 seconds to play made it 57-51.

After Delaney's 3-pointer with 11 seconds to go, Virginia freshman Will Harris missed the front end of a one-and-one. Virginia rebounded, but Scott also missed a free throw, giving the Hokies one last chance, but Dorenzo Hudson's 3-point try missed badly to end it.

Tar Heels KO Kentucky, 75-73: Tyler Zeller scored in the paint and buried the free throws North Carolina desperately needed. John Henson locked down on Kentucky's top scorer. Larry Drew II added a strong second half that helped his team hang in until the final horn.

Zeller scored a career-high 27 points and hit the go-ahead free throws with 47 seconds left, helping North Carolina edge No. 10 Kentucky 75-73 at Chapel Hill in a matchup of two of college basketball's winningest programs.

Zeller scored 12 of the final 16 points for the Tar Heels (5-3) in a game that had five lead changes in the final 3 minutes before Kentucky's Doron Lamb missed a desperation heave for the win from near halfcourt as time expired. The Tar Heels have won six of the last seven meetings in a matchup of programs each with more than 2,000 all-time victories.

"You never can tell what 19-, 20-, 21-year-olds are going to take from something," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "But I know the scene in our locker room right after the game when I got in there was a fun time. Hopefully they'll understand that and realize what they have to do to get back there."

Smith, Irving Lead No. 1 Duke Over Butler: The last two times Duke beat Butler, Mike Krzyzewski moved into a tie with one of college basketball's legendary names.

Last April, the Blue Devils' 61-59 victory in one of the best NCAA championship games ever gave Coach K four national titles, the same as Adolph Rupp managed at Kentucky.

On Saturday, No. 1 Duke beat Butler 82-70, Krzyzewski's 876th win in his 36th season, the same as "The Baron" had in 41 seasons with the Wildcats.

"I'm going to win more I think than Coach Rupp, God bless him, who won't win any more," Krzyzewski said of the late coach. "He won a lot of them and he won them in his way and they didn't play as many games then. Each era has outstanding achievements by individuals, whether they be players or coaches and in this era I've been fortunate to have some.

Grant Leads Miami Rally Past West Virginia: Malcolm Grant scored a career-high 26 points Saturday to spark a comeback by the Miami Hurricanes, who overcame a 13-point deficit with 12 minutes left and beat West Virginia 79-76.

The Hurricanes (6-2) scored on 14 of 15 possessions down the stretch, sank eight of their last nine shots and made four consecutive free throws in the final nine seconds to seal the win.

The Mountaineers (5-2) fell to 77-4 under coach Bob Huggins when they take a lead of at least 10 points.

West Virginia, playing for the first time this season on an opponent's court, was up 54-41 before Miami rallied. Grant's three-point play cut the deficit to one, and he then sank a 3-pointer that gave the Hurricanes their first lead of the second half, 66-64.

Reggie Johnson's layup put the Hurricanes ahead to stay, 68-66. Durand Scott's driving scoop with 28 seconds left made it 75-71.

Grant went 13 for 14 at the line, including the game's final two points with 6.3 seconds left. Scott then intercepted a pass to clinch the win.

Boston College Holds On Against UMass, 76-71: Reggie Jackson scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half and Boston College held off several rallies down the stretch to beat Massachusetts 76-71 in the Boston Tip-Off Classic on Saturday, ending the Minutemen's unbeaten start.

Joe Trapani also scored 17 and Josh Southern finished with 16 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles (6-2), who won the intrastate rivalry for the 11th time in the last 12 meetings.

Boston College opened the game on an 8-0 run and never trailed the Minutemen (7-1).

Anthony Gurley led UMass with 22 points.

The Minutemen, whose seven-game winning streak was their longest in 12 years, could never quite catch the Eagles after getting within two points several times down the stretch at Boston's TD Garden.

Freddie Riley and Daryl Taynham added nine points each for UMass, which couldn't capitalize on BC's 22 turnovers.

UMass was off to its best start since it opened 26-0 in 1995-96.

Wake Forest Wins Third Straight: Four Demon Deacons scored in double figures, led by Travis McKie's 18 points, as Wake Forest defeated Holy Cross 75-64 at Winston-Salem. The Deacons have now won three straight games, improving their record to 5-3 on the season, while Holy Cross stands at 0-6.

Neither team led by more than nine points until a 15-3 run midway through the second half left Wake Forest with a 49-36 lead.

McKie led all scorers with 18 points and also had 11 rebounds, giving him a double-double for the third time this season. He has scored in double figures in all but one game this year.

Sophomores C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart had 16 points and 11 points, respectively. Senior Gary Clark, who made his first start since the Nov. 15 game against Hampton, added 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field.

Wolfpack Falls To No. 8 Syracuse, 65-59: That Orange gang that can't yet seem to shoot straight still has an ace in the hole - Jim Boeheim's frustrating zone defense.

Clinging to a slim lead, No. 8 Syracuse repeatedly frustrated North Carolina State's long-range sharpshooter Scott Wood.

He made six 3s in the game but missed three times from beyond the arc in the final 2 minutes and committed a costly turnover as Syracuse held on for a 65-59 victory at Syracuse, NY.

"I think when it came down to it, we really rallied and played good," said Rick Jackson, who had 16 points, eight rebounds and four of the Orange's 12 steals. "Down the stretch they really kept looking for one guy to really shoot all their 3s and make all their shots. We took that away."

North Carolina State (4-3) seemed poised for an upset after taking a six-point lead midway through the second half, but in the final eight minutes Syracuse forced two shot-clock violations and held the Wolfpack without a basket for the final 7:20.

Seminoles Top Hartford, 60-38: Derwin Kitchen and Bernard James each had double doubles as Florida State overcame a cold-shooting first half to defeat Hartford 60-38 at Tallahassee and snap a two-game losing streak.

James had 11 points and 10 rebounds while Kitchen, a 6-3 guard, scored 10 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Florida State (6-2) took the lead at 28-27 on Michael Snaer's 3-point basket from the corner with just over a minute to go in the first half. Ian Miller's 3-point shot capped a 31-9 run that put the Seminoles in firm control at 48-33 with 8:05 left in the game.

Hartford (2-6) grabbed an early 19-10 lead midway through the first half on Anthony Minor's layup and still led at 24-17 with 6:54 left. The Hawks scored only 14 points in the final 26:54 of the game and just nine in the second half.

Maryland Falls To Temple, 64-61: Lavoy Allen hit a crucial three-point play and Temple escaped with a 64-61 victory over Maryland in Sunday's BB&T Classic, despite yielding a 15-point lead.

Allen finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, Ramone Moore had 16 points and Juan Fernandez had 14 for the Owls (5-2), who won their second straight.

Jordan Williams had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Terrapins (6-3) for his seventh double-double this season. Terrell Stoglin scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half.