Isaiah Evans scored a career-high 32 points as top-seeded Duke held off eighth-seeded Florida State’s upset bid to win 80-79 Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Charlotte.
The Blue Devils (30-2) move on to a semifinal against Clemson and are eyeing what would be their third ACC title in four seasons under Jon Scheyer. Freshman phenom Cameron Boozer added 23 points, 10 rebounds and four assists for Duke, which was playing without injured starters Patrick Ngongba and Caleb Foster.
Florida State (18-15) was powered by 28 points from Lajae Jones and Robert McCray V’s 25 points. Chauncey Wiggins chipped in 13 points.
Duke was up by one with 37.8 seconds left. The Blue Devils drained the clock down on their next possession before taking a shot, but Boozer’s 14-foot attempt was stuffed by Alex Steen. The Seminoles charged down the court but settled for a 3-point attempt from McCray that missed the mark just before the buzzer sounded.
No. 10 Virginia 81, North Carolina State 74
Malik Thomas provided clutch late-game production to finish with 16 points and Thijs De Ridder scored 15 points as the Cavaliers fended off the Wolfpack.
Reserve Jacari White posted 13 points and Sam Lewis delivered all 12 of his points on 3-pointers for the second-seeded Cavaliers (28-4), who meet Miami in the semifinals. Virginia center Ugonna Onyenso’s eight blocked shots matched the second most in a game in the league tournament’s history.
Virginia defeated NC State in three matchups this season, but this was by far the closest encounter. Paul McNeil Jr. drilled six 3-pointers on the way to 26 points for seventh-seeded NC State (20-13). Ven-Allen Lubin contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Clemson 80, No. 19 North Carolina 79
Nick Davidson posted 17 points and 11 rebounds as the fifth-seeded Tigers held on to upset the fourth-seeded Tar Heels.
Derek Dixon’s 3-pointer on a Seth Trimble dish trimmed Clemson’s lead to one with 2.9 seconds to play, capping the Tar Heels’ late 21-7 late surge. North Carolina had a chance to win on the game’s final possession, but Jarin Stevenson’s heave from halfcourt was short.
Davidson was one of six players Clemson to score in double figures for Clemson (24-9). North Carolina (24-8) was carried by Henri Veesaar’s career-high 28 points and 17 rebounds, while Dixon scored 16 points.
Miami 78, No. 24 Louisville 73
Malik Reneau poured in 24 points and made key plays in the second half as the Hurricanes knocked off the Cardinals in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals in Charlotte.
Tru Washington came off the Miami bench for 17 points and Tre Donaldson provided 14 points and six assists for the third-seeded Hurricanes (25-7), who avenged a loss from the weekend as the teams met for the second time in six days.
Ryan Conwell scored 22 points for sixth-seeded Louisville (23-10), but his 1-for-10 mark on 3-point attempts contributed to the team’s 25% accuracy (6-for-24) from beyond the arc. J’Vonne Hadley racked up 19 points.
