T.J. Warren exploded for 42 points to lead N.C. State to a 78-68 victory over Boston College on Sunday in Raleigh, N.C.
Warren, who scored 41 points in his previous game, is the first ACC player with back-to-back 40-point games since Georgia Tech’s Kenny Anderson in 1990, and he’s the first to do it in consecutive league games since 1957.
Warren, the league’s leading scorer at 24 points per game, also had 13 rebounds for the Wolfpack (19-12, 9-9 ACC).
Olivier Hanlan scored 29 points for BC (8-23, 4-14), which is seeded 14th in the ACC tournament and will open with 11th-seeded Georgia Tech in Wednesday’s opening round.
The Eagles trailed by 14 points early in the second half but then ran off 15 straight, taking the lead on a Ryan Anderson jumper with 13:14 left. The game stayed tight until Warren went on a personal 7-0 run starting with a three-point play with just under six minutes remaining and ending with two free throws that made it 63-58 with 4:42 left.
After an Anderson jumper got BC within three, Warren assisted on a Desmond Lee 3-pinter then hit 3-of-4 free throws to stretch the lead to nine. BC never seriously threatened thereafter.
– In Amherst, Jordair Jett hit a driving layup with three seconds left to give No. 17 Saint Louis a 64-62 victory over UMass and clinch the Atlantic-10 regular-season title for the Billikens.
Saint Louis (26-5, 13-3), which had lost three straight following a school-record 19-game winning streak, got possession after a jump ball call with 36 seconds left. Jett, who scored 17 points, including his team’s final six points of the day, ran down the clock before scoring the winner.
Chaz Williams , who finished with 20 points and nine assists for the Minutemen (23-7, 10-6), took the ensuing inbounds pass down the court and launched a long 3-point attempt that bounced off the rim.
UMass had an eight-lead with 5:48 left after two Derrick Gordon free throws made it 57-49. Saint Louis drew even with just over three minutes remaining, setting up the dramatic finish.
UMass is the sixth seed for the A-10 tournament and will play 11th-seeded Rhode Island on Thursday.
– In Baltimore, Davon Usher scored 21 points to lead top-seeded Delaware to an 87-74 victory over Northeastern in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.
Jarvis Threatt had 19 points and 11 rebounds for Delaware (24-9), which will play William & Mary in Monday’s title game.
Scott Eatherton had 20 points and eight rebounds, and Reggie Spencer scored 18 points for the Huskies (11-21).
The Blue Hens scored the game’s first 10 points, but NU took a 42-39 lead early in the second half. However, Delaware, which shot 59 percent for the game, hit 19-of-25 shots in the second half to pull away.