WAKE FOREST-NORTH CAROLINA
Hollins catches 3 TD passes, UNC routs Wake Forest, 50-14
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) β Marquise Williams threw three touchdown passes to Mack Hollins and also rushed for a score, and North Carolina routed Wake Forest 50-14 on Saturday night.
Williams was 14 of 20 for 282 yards and connected with Hollins on scoring passes of 57, 4 and 42 yards.
The QB added a 13-yard touchdown run while helping the Tar Heels (5-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) win their fifth straight, rolling up at least 38 points in each victory.
Elijah Hood added 101 yards rushing with a 36-yard TD run, and T.J. Logan had a 1-yard scoring burst during the Tar Heels’ season-best 29-point second quarter. They scored 22 of them in a span of 3 minutes, 42 seconds.
John Wolford was 16 of 22 for 176 yards with touchdown passes of 1 yard to Cam Serigne and 5 yards to Tabari Hinds for the Demon Deacons (3-4, 1-3).
HURRICANES-CAPITALS
Backstrom debuts with 3 points as Caps beat Hurricanes, 4-1
WASHINGTON (AP) β Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and two assists in his season debut to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night.
Backstrom, who led the NHL with 60 assists last season, missed the team’s first three games while recovering from arthroscopic hip surgery in late May. The center scored in the third period and assisted on power-play goals from T.J. Oshie (one goal, one assist) and John Carlson.
Washington broke the game open with three third-period goals, the last coming from Alex Ovechkin.
Carolina goalie Cam Ward kept the game close, finishing with 30 saves and robbing the Capitals several times.
The lone Carolina goal came when Jeff Skinner banked a shot off Washington goalie Braden Holtby’s foot with 12:15 left. That cut the lead to 2-1.
KNICKS-HORNETS
Kaminsky leads Charlotte Hornets past New York Knicks, 97-93
CHARLOTTE, N.C (AP) β Frank Kaminsky had 11 points and eight rebounds, and the Charlotte Hornets remained perfect in NBA preseason play after beating the previously-unbeaten New York Knicks 97-93 on Saturday night.
KNICKS: Cleanthony Early had 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting. … Langston Galloway finished with 15 points, all in the first half. … Derrick Williams added 14 points and Lou Amundson 12.
HORNETS: Playing just the first half, Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker finished with 12 and 10 points, respectively. … Jeremy Lamb added 10 points and seven rebounds.
STAT SHEET: Charlotte had 15 assists after averaging 22.5 per game in its first four preseason games. Meanwhile, New York finished with 24 assists, just over its season average (23.0).
STAR WATCH: The Knicks sat three of their projected starters β F Carmelo Anthony, G Jose Calderon and C Robin Lopez. … Hornets G Jeremy Lin was sidelined with an undisclosed illness.
UP NEXT: New York visits Boston on Thursday. Charlotte hosts Chicago on Monday.
APPALACHIAN ST-LOUISIANA-MONROE
Lamb leads Appalachian State over Louisiana-Monroe 59-14
MONROE, La. (AP) β Taylor Lamb threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score to lead Appalachian State to a 59-14 victory over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday night.
Lamb was 8 of 15 for 261 yards passing with scoring strikes to three different receivers. He ran for 103 yards on seven carries with a 13-yard touchdown run. Marcus Cox added 122 yards rushing on 23 carries with two touchdowns for Appalachian State (5-1, 2-0 Sun Belt Conference).
Garrett Smith threw two touchdown passes to lead Louisiana-Monroe (1-5, 0-2). He finished 17 of 30 for 192 yards passing with two interceptions.
Smith connected with Marcus Green on a 31-yarder to pull the Warhawks to 14-10 in the second quarter. The Mountaineers then scored on six of their next seven possessions to take a 52-14 lead early in the fourth quarter.
CHARLOTTE-OLD DOMINION
Pascal grabs go-ahead TD; Old Dominion beats Charlotte 37-34
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) β Zach Pascal had an 11-yard touchdown reception with 2:18 remaining to help Old Dominion beat Charlotte 37-34 on Saturday.
Jonathan Duhart converted the ensuing 2-point conversion to cap a nine-play, 75-yard drive. Charlotte turned over on downs at the Old Dominion 44 with 21 seconds left.
David Washington was 25 of 43 passing for 365 yards and four touchdowns for Old Dominion (3-3, 1-1 Conference USA). Pascal caught 11 passes for 231 yards and three touchdowns β all career highs β including a 53-yarder in the first quarter.
Pascal pulled Old Dominion within 31-29 on a 15-yard touchdown early in the fourth. But Old Dominion turned it over on downs at their own 33 on its next possession. Charlotte’s short drive stalled at the 3 and the 49ers settled for a 20-yard field goal and a 34-29 lead.
Kalif Phillips rushed for a career-high 204 yards and had two touchdowns for Charlotte (2-4, 0-3).
NASCAR-KANSAS-XFINITY
Kyle Busch wins Xfinity race at Kansas Speedway
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) β Kyle Busch raced to his fifth Xfinity Series victory of the year and record-extending 75th overall, outdueling Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Matt Kenseth on Saturday at Kansas Speedway.
Busch became the winningest NASCAR driver in Kansas Speedway history with four. He also won Xfinity races in 2007 and 2014 and a NASCAR Truck event in 2014.
After Kenseth led the first 117 laps and 148 in all, Busch grabbed the lead for good in his Toyota with 15 laps to go. Joey Logano was third, followed by Ty Dillon, Regan Smith and points leader Chris Buescher.
Busch appeared to have seized control on the 147th lap, but during a caution, he ran into debris that damaged the right front and dropped him back into the field. When the race resumed to green-flag racing, Busch returned to contention and rode Kenseth’s bumper before taking the lead.
Another caution with four laps to go extended the race to a green-white-checkered finish.
NC CENTRAL-SAVANNAH ST
Bell leads NC Central to 39-22 win over Savannah State
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) β Malcolm Bell passed for 116 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 92 yards and another score as North Carolina Central came back from a 22-0 deficit to beat Savannah State 39-22 on Saturday.
Savannah State (1-5, 1-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) jumped to a 22-0 lead in the first quarter as Joshua Berry had scoring runs of 10 and 26 yards and Arshon Spaulding, who finished with 133 rushing yards and 71 passing, broke for a 61-yard score.
North Carolina Central (3-3, 2-1) closed to 22-15 at the break. Bell hit David Miller on a 35-yard scoring strike to tie the score early in the third. The Eagles went ahead when Nigel Macauley booted a 30-yard field goal.
Dorrel McClain rushed for 135 yards on 18 carries as North Carolina Central amassed 291 rushing yards β the third straight game that the Eagles have rushed for over 200 yards.
GARDNER-WEBB-KENNESAW ST
Thompson’s 4 FGs lift Kennesaw State past Gardner-Webb, 12-7
KENNESAW, Ga. (AP) β Justin Thompson kicked four field goals, the Kennesaw State defense allowed just 200 total yards and the Owls beat Gardner-Webb 12-7 on Saturday in their first ever Big South Conference game.
After the teams combined to go three-and-out on the first three possessions of the game, Thompson capped an 11-play, 42-yard drive with a 30-yard field goal. He added a 33-yarder with nine seconds left in the half to give Kennesaw State (5-1, 1-0) a 6-0 lead at the break.
Gardner-Webb (2-4, 1-1) had just 40 total yards in the first half.
A 19-play, 83-yard drive stalled at the 9 and Kennesaw State settled for a 26-yard field goal and a 9-0 advantage with 13:47 to play.
Josh Bettistea’s 1-yard touchdown run cut Gardner-Webb’s deficit to two with 3:43 remaining, but a 31-yard field goal by Thompson β and Nick Perrotta’s interception of a Tyrell Maxwell pass on the Bulldogs’ next possession β sealed it for the Owls.
