Auguste, Ryan help Notre Dame beat NC State 89-75
By STEVE LOWE
Associated Press
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) _ Zach Auguste had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Notre Dame snapped a two-game losing streak to conclude the regular season Saturday with an 89-75 win over North Carolina State.
Matt Ryan scored a career-high 17 points and Demetrius Jackson had 14 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Irish (20-10, 11-7 ACC), who still need a No. 17 Duke loss against No. 8 North Carolina on Saturday to finish fourth in the ACC and earn a double bye in next week’s league tournament.
Anthony “Cat” Barber led NC State (15-16, 5-13) with 29 points and became just the second ACC player besides Georgia Tech’s Kenny Anderson (1990-91) to average 23 points, four rebounds and four assists per game.
Clemson completes BC’s losing ACC regular season, 66-50
By KEN POWTAK
Associated Press
BOSTON (AP) _ Jaron Blossomgame scored 16 points and Clemson beat Boston College 66-50 on Saturday, completing the Eagles’ winless regular season in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
The Eagles (7-24, 0-18) became the first ACC team to go winless in their conference regular-season games since Maryland went 0-14 in 1986-87. It’s the sixth time in league history. They do have another shot this week in the conference tourney.
Worse, BC’s football team went 0-8 in league play, making the school the first in ACC history to go winless in both sports in the same academic year.
Donte Grantham added 13 points and eight rebounds, and Avry Holmes had 11 points for Clemson (17-13, 10-8). The Tigers halted a three-game losing skid and improved to just 3-8 on the road.
Jerome Robinson led the Eagles with 18 points. Dennis Clifford had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Winthrop makes Big South title game in win over Gardner-Webb
BUIES CREEK, N.C. (AP) — Xavier Cooks hit four 3-pointers and scored 23 points and No. 2 seed Winthrop beat sixth-seeded Gardner-Webb 82-69 on Saturday to advance to the Big South Conference tournament championship game.
Winthrop (23-8) plays UNC Asheville on Sunday.
Jimmy Gavin also finished with 23 points and Keon Johnson had 14 for the Eagles, who reached the championship game for the third consecutive year.
Tyrell Nelson scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Harold McBride added 16 points for the Bulldogs (17-16).
The score was tied at 29 at the half, but Winthrop took control in the second, building a double-digit lead on a Gavin layup with 12:04 left. A McBride 3-point play cut the deficit to 71-67 with 3:30 remaining. But Cooks hit a 3 on the next possession, and Gavin added a layup in the final minute to push the Eagles’ lead back to 10.
Thornwell leads South Carolina past Arkansas 76-61
By KURT VOIGT
AP Sports Writer
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) _ Sindarius Thornwell scored 22 points and had 11 rebounds as South Carolina ended a two-game losing streak with a 76-61 win at Arkansas on Saturday.
The win gives the Gamecocks (24-7, 11-7 Southeastern Conference) their most victories since the 1996-97 season, and they matched their most conference wins since 1997-98.
With leading scorer Michael Carrera out with an injury, Thornwell added six assists and finished 9 of 17 from the field. Duane Notice added 15 points for South Carolina, while Laimonas Chatkevicius had 11 and Mindaugas Kacinas 10.
Dusty Hannahs and Anthlon Bell had 16 points each to lead the Razorbacks (16-15, 9-9), while Moses Kingsley added 13 points.
