Michael Eley sizzled for 31 points as Hampton University beat Jackson State 84-77 Thursday in the opener of the Chris Paul HBCU Classic at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
Xzavier Long provided 18 points, 15 rebounds and three assists for the Pirates (6-6). They enjoyed a superlative performance at the free-throw line, sinking 26 of 31. Eley was 9 of 9, and Etienne Strothers was 8 of 8 on his way to 11 points. Josh Ogundele added 10 points.
The Tigers (1-10) enjoyed a huge game from Daeshun Ruffin, who shot 13 of 18 from the field and 8 of 9 at the free-throw line for 36 points, as well as distributing six assists. Jayme Mitchell Jr. added 16 points.
Hampton will return to action at 5 p.m. Friday against Grambling State. NSU then will meet Jackson State at 7:30 Friday night in the event, all of whose games are on ESPNU.
Grambling State 80, Norfolk State 68: In Thursday’s second game of the Chris Paul HBCU Classic, Antonio Munoz’s 22 points and five rebounds helped the Tigers (4-6) prevail before 535 at Gateway Center Arena.
Grambling went ahead 9-0. After NSU pulled to 11-8, the Tigers scored 13 consecutive points to move ahead 24-8 and remained ahead by double figures thereafter.
Rickey Ballard shot 5 of 8 from the field, including 4 for 6 from 3-point range, and went 5 for 6 from the line to add 19 points. Jamil Muttilib finished with 13 points for the Tigers, who snapped a five-game slide.
The Spartans (4-8) were led by Elijah Jamison, who finished with 26 points, six rebounds and two steals. Devon Ellis added 12 points and seven rebounds for NSU. Anthony McComb III finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.
William & Mary 96, Radford 83: The Tribe’s freewheeling style produced six double-digit scorers and another victory at Kaplan Arena for a 9-3 record, though the Highlanders (5-8) led for most of the first half.
Kyle Pulliam had 22 points, seven rebounds and three steals before a crowd of 2,790. Also for W&M, Reese Miller scored 17 points while shooting 6 for 13 (2 for 7 from 3-point range) and 3 of 3 from the free-throw line. Chase Lowe shot 3 of 6 from the field and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line to finish with 12 points. Jo’el Emanuel, Kilian Brockhoff and Finn Lally added 10 points apiece.
Dennis Parker Jr. led Radford with 26 points, 11 rebounds and three steals. Still, that was nowhere near the Radford- and Big South-record 53 points the Richmond-area native and North Carolina State transfer had scored in the Highlanders’ last game, a 107-77 victory over Coppin State.
Jaylon Johnson added 19 points, four assists and two steals for Radford.
William & Mary took the lead for good with 50 seconds remaining in the first half, during which Pulliam racked up 13 points. Miller scored 17 points in the second half.
Virginia Peninsula Community College 79, Monroe University-Bronx 68: Ky’Saan Bevier scored 15 points, Chris Cyrus 14, Emmanuel Angila 12 and Jordan Watlington 12 for the Gators (9-5) in their victory at SafeHaven Community Center in Newport News. Watlington added 12 points, five assists and five steals.
Andi Metaliaj had 17 points and seven rebounds for Monroe.
VCU 105, American 83: Terrence Hill Jr. came off the bench to produce 17 points and five rebounds for the Rams (8-4) as they won at Siegel Center.
Lazar Djokovic finished 6 of 7 from the field to add 15 points. Nyk Lewis shot 4 of 9 from the field and went 5 for 5 from the free-throw line to finish with 14 points.
The Eagles (7-5) were led in scoring by Wyatt Nausadis, who finished with 17 points. Geoff Sprouse added 16 points and five assists, and Julen Iturbe also had 15 points.
VCU led 48-35 at the break and pulled away with an 11-3 run in the second half to go ahead by 24.
No. 25 Georgia 112, Western Carolina 82: Jeremiah Wilkinson tied his career high with 26 points in the Bulldogs’ first game after moving into the AP Top 25. Georgia (10-1) leads the nation at 98.3 points per game.
Somto Cyril had 14 points, 10 rebounds and four steals for the Bulldogs. Marcus “Smurf” Millender added 17 points to subdue the Catamounts (4-7).
Women
No. 21 Ohio State 79, Norfolk State 45: After falling behind 4-0 in Columbus, the Buckeyes (10-1) moved ahead 20-10 by the first quarter’s end and beat the Spartans.
Jasha Clinton paced NSU with 18 points, shooting 6 of 16 from the field and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line while adding three assists and two steals. Ciara Bailey was the other Spartan in double figures, recording her first double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Kylee Kitts scored 13 points, Jaloni Cambridge added 11 and Ohio State rolled to its eighth straight win. Kitts grabbed 10 rebounds to go with two steals and two blocks, helping the Buckeyes to a 55-32 edge on the boards. Cambridge had eight rebounds and two steals.
Virginia Tech 79, Florida State 54: Mackenzie Nelson and Mel Daley posted their first career double-doubles in Tallahassee, and the 25-point victory by the Hokies (10-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) over FSU (4-9, 0-2) was their largest margin of victory in a series that started in 1979.
It was 26-12 after one quarter and never in doubt.
No. 3 South Carolina 103, South Florida 44: Joyce Edwards scored a career-high 34 points on 13-of-14 shooting in Tampa. Her previous career best was 29 points, which she scored last Sunday in a 95-55 win over Penn State.
Tessa Johnson added 16 points, Ta’Niya Latson scored 15 and Madina Okot had 12 points and 10 rebounds for South Carolina (11-1), which shot 62% (44 of 70). Jelena Bulajic scored 10 for USF (6-6).
Randolph 71, Regent 46: The WildCats (6-4) outplayed the Royals (1-10) in Lynchburg. Regent’s My’Angel Carter and Mikaylah Telfer scored 12 points each. Carter had 15 rebounds and Telfer 14.
For Randolph, Maddie Pabon had 16 points and Manor High graduate Taniya Jackson 14. Pariz Minor, from Norview, added six points on 3-for-3 shooting and four rebounds.