GREENVILLE — Tristen Newton hit a 3-pointer from the left corner in the closing seconds and East Carolina upset SMU 71-68 on Saturday.
Tyson Jolley made two free throws to tie the game with 12 seconds left. Following a timeout, Tremont Robinson-White dribbled the length of the court and as he was challenged at the basket he found Newton for the game winner.
Jolley’s runner from just inside half court bounced off the front of the rim as time expired.
Jayden Gardner scored 20 points for the Pirates (8-8, 2-1 American Athletic Conference), which earned its sixth straight home victory. Newton added 12, Tyrie Jackson 11 and Robinson-White 10 points.
The Pirates were in trouble after the first half, heading into halftime trailing 38-27. Gardner had 14 points in the second half and East Carolina made 7 of 17 3-pointers and shot 50%.
Robinson-White scored with 1:50 to play to make it a 3-point game. He then came up with a steal and was fouled. He made the first free throw and missed the second but Gardner grabbed the rebound and made the putback to tie the game at the 1:19 mark.
SMU missed a shot and made two free throws with 28.8 seconds to go for a 68-66 lead.
Isiaha Mike had 21 points for the Mustangs (12-3, 2-1), whose four-game winning streak came to end. Kendric Davis added 13 points and six assists and Emmanuel Bandoumel had 11 points.
Crosby’s shot lifts Delaware State over NC Central
DOVER, Del. — John Crosby scored 18 points and buried a jumper at the buzzer to lift Delaware State to a 68-66 victory over North Carolina Central on Saturday, snapping the Hornets’ seven-game losing streak.
Jibri Blount’s layup gave NC Central a 65-61 lead with 1:42 left in the game. But Crosby had a three-point play and Myles Carter added a layup to put Delaware State up 66-65 with 43 seconds remaining. Deven Palmer made 1 of 2 free throws with 3 seconds to go to pull the Eagles even and set the stage for Crosby’s game-winner.
Crosby hit 8 of 14 shots from the floor for Delaware State (2-14, 1-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference), which shot just 41% from the floor and 25% from 3-point range (5 of 20). John Stansbury scored 15 on 5-of-8 shooting, while Ameer Bennett pitched in with 11 points and six rebounds. Carter finished with 10 points off the bench.
Blount topped the Eagles with 26 points and 13 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Blount hit 10 of 20 shots from the floor for NC Central (5-11, 1-1), which shot 45% overall but just 19% from beyond the arc (3 of 16). Ty Graves scored 12.
Jones, Fields lead Radford past Campbell
RADFORD, Va. — Carlik Jones scored 22 points, Travis Fields Jr. added 17, and Radford defeated Campbell 68-63 on Saturday.
It was the fifth consecutive victory for the Highlanders (8-7, 3-0 Big South Conference).
Radford did not trail over the final 35 minutes and led 57-44 with 4:39 remaining in the second half. Jordan Whitfield then scored five points in Campbell’s 8-0 run that cut the margin to 57-52 with 2:01 remaining. As the Fighting Camels extended the game by sending Radford to the free throw line, the Highlanders scored their final 11 points on free throws, making 11 of 14 over the final 1:35.
Whitfield had 18 points for the Fighting Camels (10-6, 1-3). Cedric Henderson Jr. added 17 points and three blocks.
Radford plays at South Carolina Upstate on Thursday. Campbell will be at home against Charleston Southern on Thursday.
Davidson needs overtime to get past Saint Joseph’s
DAVIDSON — Luka Brajkovic scored six of his 17 points in overtime to carry Davidson to an 89-83 win over Saint Joseph’s in a game pitting two programs in search of their first Atlantic 10 victory of the season.
Ryan Daly missed a long-range jumper to tie with :10 seconds left but redirected a pass into a desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 76-76 and force an extra period.
Jon Axel Gudmundsson got the Wildcats off to strong start in OT, hitting the second of two free throws and adding a layup in the first minute. Brajkovic hit two free throws and scored at the basket to make it 85-81, then added two more free throws in the final minute to push the lead to 87-83.
Gudmundsson finished with 29 points, converting 10 of 13 from the line, and grabbed nine rebounds and collected four steals to lead Davidson (7-8, 1-2). Brajkovic added 17 points and grabbed eight boards while Kellan Grady contributed 14 points and Carter Collins added 13 more.
Daly finished with 28 points to lead Saint Joseph’s (3-13, 0-4). Cameron Brown contributed 14 points and Lorenzo Edwards added 10.
Edwards lifts Charlotte over Old Dominion
CHARLOTTE — Drew Edwards had 12 points as Charlotte defeated Old Dominion 53-47 on Saturday.
Both teams set season lows for scoring during the game. Charlotte (9-5, 3-0 Conference USA) scored 23 second-half points, the lowest of the season for the hosts, while the 20 first-half points for Old Dominion marked the fewest of the season for the road team.
Malik Curry had 17 points for the Monarchs (6-10, 2-1). Aaron Carver added 7 points and 10 rebounds. Joe Reece had five steals.
Charlotte matches up against Marshall on the road on Thursday. Old Dominion faces W. Kentucky on the road on Thursday.
Jackson carries NC A&T past Md.-Eastern Shore
PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — Ronald Jackson had a season-high 22 points plus 12 rebounds as NC A&T ended its eight-game road losing streak, routing Maryland-Eastern Shore 91-53 on Saturday.
Andre Jackson had 16 points for NC A&T (6-11, 2-0 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference). Tyler Maye added 11 points and Kwe Parker had 10.
The Hawks’ 25.7 field goal percentage represented the worst mark by a NC A&T opponent this season.
Bruce Guy had 12 points for the Hawks (2-15, 1-1). AJ Cheeseman added eight rebounds.
Da’Shawn Phillip, who was second on the Hawks in scoring heading into the matchup with seven points per game, was held scoreless (0-7).
NC A&T plays Delaware State on the road on Monday. Maryland Eastern Shore takes on NC Central at home on Monday.
