No. 4 Wake Loses Again

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Vince Carter scored 21 of his career-high 26 points in the first half as No. 12 North Carolina remained in contention for the Atlantic Coast Conference title, holding off No. 4 Wake Forest 74-60 Wednesday night at Chapel Hill, N.C.

The surging Tar Heels (18-6, 8-5), who more than a month ago were off to their worst-ever ACC start at 0-3, won their sixth straight and ninth in 11 games to move into a fourth-place tie with No. 8 Clemson in the league standings.

North Carolina had lost to Wake Forest (20-4, 9-4) by 24 points in each of its last two meetings, but the Tar Heels led by 20 at halftime behind Carter’s 9-of-10 shooting.

The Demon Deacons, who fell in a controversial overtime loss Sunday at home to last-place N.C. State, lost two in a row for the first time since midway through the 1994-95 season - a span of 75 games.

(2) Minnesota 60, Ohio St. 48

At Minneapolis, Charles Thomas and Eric Harris hit consecutive 3-pointers in a 10-2 second-half run as the Golden Gophers (23-2, 12-1) overcame some poor shooting to beat the Buckeyes (10-12. 5-8) and move closer to their first Big Ten title since 1982. Minnesota extended its Big Ten lead to 3 games over Purdue with five games to play.

(3) Kentucky 75, Alabama 61

At Tuscaloosa, Ala., Ron Mercer hit two key 3-pointers down the stretch and finished with 23 points to lead the Wildcats (25-3, 11-2 Southeastern Conference) over the Crimson Tide (14-12, 4-9).

Texas 57, (7) Iowa St. 56

At Austin, Texas, Dennis Jordan tipped in a missed shot with 3.3 seconds left and the Longhorns, desperately needing a big win to improve its NCAA Tournament chances, beat the Cyclones.

Texas (15-8, 9-4 Big 12), considered a team on the bubble for an NCAA Tournament bid, improved its record to 3-21 against Top 10 teams in nine seasons under coach Tom Penders and snapped a three-game losing streak against the Cyclones (18-5, 9-4).

(14) Maryland 76, Georgia Tech 68

Keith Booth scored 11 of his 26 points over the final 10 minutes when the Terrapins took control, stretching a one-point lead to as many as 11 in a victory over the Yellow Jackets.

Maryland (20-6, 9-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat Georgia Tech (9-14, 3-10) at Atlanta for only the second time since Bobby Cremins became the Georgia Tech coach in 1981.

(19) Villanova 65, St. John’s 54

At Philadelphia, Alvin Williams continued to have the hot hand, scoring 18 points as the Wildcats (19-7, 10-5 Big East) beat the Red Storm (11-13, 6-10).

Williams, who had a career-high 27 points a week ago against Pittsburgh and 25 points in Sunday’s win over Notre Dame, scored 13 points in the second half.

(21) Colorado 67, Kansas St. 57

At Boulder, Colo., Chauncey Billups scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and the Buffaloes two-game losing streak with a win over the Jayhawks (9-14, 2-11 Big 12).

Colorado (18-7, 9-4), which was coming off road losses to Oklahoma and No. 1 Kansas by a combined 65 points, led by 14 points at halftime and by as many as 20 points in the second half.