Darrion Williams scored 28 points, Tre Holloman added 25 and No. 25 North Carolina State marked its first appearance in the national rankings this season by beating VCU 85-79 Monday night in Raleigh.
Matt Able had 12 points off the bench and Ven-Allen Lubin provided 11 points and nine rebounds for the Wolfpack (4-0), who overcame 17 turnovers.
Holloman made six free throws in the final 18 seconds to help NC State win its first November game in the Top 25 in 13 years.
Barry Evans had 18 points and Jadrian Tracey scored 16, including four 3-pointers, for the Rams (2-2). Lazar Djokovic finished with 13.
NC State coach Will Wade spent two seasons (2015-17) as VCU’s coach, and his former team refused to fade away. Tracey missed a pair of potential late tying 3-pointers.
NC State, 70-4 in its last 74 nonconference home games, enjoyed a 27-12 advantage in free-throw points, boosted by Holloman’s 10-for-10 performance.
No. 13 Gonzaga 122, Southern Utah 50: The Bulldogs (5-0) posted their largest victory margin ever against a Division I foe. Braden Huff scored 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting and Davis Fogle came off the bench for 19 points against the visiting Thunderbirds (1-4).
No. 16 Iowa State 96, Stonehill 57: Joshua Jefferson and Tamin Lipsey scored 23 points apiece for the Cyclones (4-0), whose average winning margin is 33.3 points per game. Jefferson added nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
Koffi Hermann made four 3-pointers and led the Skyhawks (1-5), who are in their fourth Division I season, with 16 points.
No. 20 Tennessee 91, Rice 66: Felix Okpara had 20 points and eight rebounds, Nate Ament added 19 points and 10 boards, and the Volunteers (4-0) over the Owls (2-3) cruised in Knoxville despite an injury to forward J.P. Estrella. The 6-foot-11 redshirt sophomore went down in a scrum of bodies in the first half and appeared to hurt his left knee. He entered averaging 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game
No. 23 Wisconsin 94, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville 69: John Blackwell scored 24 points and Nick Boyd added 22 as the Badgers (4-0) closed a four-game, season-opening homestand. Jordan Pickett had 12 points to lead SIUE (3-2).
Liberty 98, Carolina University 46: Seven players scored eight or more points helped the Flames (4-0) beat an overmatched foe in Lynchburg. It counted an exhibition, and therefore not a loss, for the NAIA Bruins.
Zander Yates and JJ Harper paced Liberty with 15 points apiece, and Zach Cleveland nearly notched a triple-double with eight points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
Pittsburgh 84, Bucknell 50: Barry Dunning Jr. came off the bench to hit seven 3-pointers, scoring 23 for Pitt in a home win. Dunning hit 7 of 11 from 3-point range and 8 of 13 overall, adding seven rebounds for the Panthers (4-1) against the Bison (2-3).
Clemson 81, North Alabama 61: RJ Godfrey’s 16 points and six rebounds and Zac Foster’s 14 points, six assists and four rebounds propelled the host Tigers (4-1) over the Lions (2-3), who trailed 45-22 at the half.
Women
No. 5 LSU 101, Tulane 71: Flau’jae Johnson scored 22 points and MiLaysia Fulwiley had 20 points and six assists in New Orleans as extended its season-opening winning streak to five games. Mecailin Marshall led the Green Wave with 20 points.
VCU 69, Howard 66: Mary-Anna Asare’s go-ahead three-point play with 3.8 seconds remaining gave her 25 points and propelled the Rams (3-1) over the Bison (4-1) at Siegel Center. Katarina Kneževic scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds for VCU, while former King’s Fork and Menchville High standout Cyriah Griffin had five assists.
Zennia Thomas led Howard with 25 points.
Longwood 71, George Washington 62: The Lancers (4-1) outscored the Revolutionaries 21-5 over seven minutes spanning the first and second quarters in Farmville and led 44-22 at the half.
Longwood’s Jasmine Peaks tallied 12 points and a game-best seven assists, while Otaifo Esenabhalu contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds. GW’s Emma Theodorsson had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
https://www.dailypress.com/2025/11/18/no-25-nc-state-repels-challenge-from-vcu/
