Saturday ACC Basketball

BARNES (Nick Wass/AP Photo)

#5 NORTH CAROLINA 83, MARYLAND 74 – Harrison Barnes’ calling card last season eventually was his late game impact and Saturday the talented sophomore again stepped up late in the game to help UNC secure a tough road win in College Park.

 Tyler Zeller scored 22 points, John Henson had 17 points and 12 rebounds while Kendall Marshall registered 16 assists. 

The Tar Heels (20-3, 7-1 ACC) got all they could handle from the upstart Terrapins, who didn't lead over the final nine minutes but never let North Carolina get comfortable down the stretch.

Barnes, who sprained his left ankle Tuesday against Wake Forest, scored 18 points on 5-for-15 shooting. He started slowly but was instrumental after Zeller picked up his fourth foul with 11:44 to go.

#21 FLORIDA STATE 58, #16 VIRGINIA 55 – Hey, don’t look now but football school Florida State is pretty good and folks in and around  Tallahassee are beginning to take notice.  A capacity crowd at the Donald L. Tucker got exactly what it expected Saturday afternoon from Virginia and Florida State in a game that ended with an FSU victory.

The ACC's two best defensive teams combined to force 39 turnovers - 19 by the Seminoles and 20 by the Cavaliers - and the game needed every bit of its 40 minutes to determine a winner.

(Phil Sears/AP Photo)

When the final buzzer did sound, the Noles emerged victorious thanks to their ability to withstand a second-half rally that had erased a 13-point Florida State (16-6, 7-1 ACC) lead. By beating Virginia (18-4, 5-3), FSU not only upset another top-20 opponent but it extended its school-record streak of conference victories to seven.

N.C. STATE 87, WAKE FOREST 76 – Scott Wood scored a season-high 23 points on a stellar 6-of-10 shooting performance from three-point range, launched NC (State to a win and a season sweep of Wake Forest Saturday at the RBC Center.

"Scott Wood was pretty good in just about every facet," said NC State head coach Mark Gottfried. "He defended well, gave up a couple of looks here and there, but mostly it was great to see him get in the groove where everybody in the gym started to think that every shot he took was going in."

The Wolfpack boasted four double-digit scorers, highlighted by Wood. C.J. Williams and C.J. Leslie each poured in 18, Williams on 8-of-13 shooting and Leslie on 6-of-13 including 5-of-7 from the line. Leslie bounced back in a big way after being held scoreless in the Pack's first meeting with Wake.

GEORGIA TECH 51, BOSTON COLLEGE 47 – Glen Rice Jr. scored three points in the final minute, Brandon Reed hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds and Georgia Tech snapped a six-game losing streak with a victory over BC on Saturday.

(Matt Gentry/Roanoke Times/AP)

In a matchup of two struggling teams, Rice finished with 11 points and Kammeon Holsey and Daniel Miller each added 10 for the Yellow Jackets (9-14, 2-7 ACC).

Matt Humphrey scored 15 points and Lonnie Jackson had 10 for the Eagles (7-16, 2-7 ACC), who have dropped six straight and nine of 11.

VIRGINIA TECH 67, CLEMSON 65 – Virginia Tech's Jarell Eddie scored 15 points, and the Hokies withstood a furious Clemson rally down the stretch, holding off the Tigers Saturday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum.

With the win, Tech moved to 13-10 overall, 2-6 in the ACC. Clemson fell to 11-11, 3-5 in league play.

Tech seemed to have the game in control, leading 64-50 following a Dorian Finney-Smith 3-pointer from the corner with 5:57 remaining. But the Tigers used pressure defense to get back in the game, going on a 15-3 run and cutting the Tech lead to 67-65 on a jumper by Tanner Smith with 27 seconds left in the game.