Bucknell bucks Pitt from undefeated ranks

Kevin Bettencourt made two free throws with 23 seconds remaining to give Bucknell the lead in a 69-66 victory over No. 10 Pittsburgh on Sunday night at Pittsburgh, one of the biggest wins in school history.

Bettencourt’s free throws made it 67-66 and Charles Lee added two free throws with 2.3 seconds remaining to seal the win as Bucknell beat its highest-ranked opponent ever.

Chris McNaughton scored 17 points, Lee had 14 and Bettencourt 13 for Bucknell (9-4), which has won six straight.

Carl Krauser had 20 points for Pitt (10-1), which had a 48-game home winning streak against non-conference teams snapped.

The last time Bucknell defeated Pittsburgh was Jan 11, 1975, when the Bison were coached by Jim Valvano. That was Bucknell’s last victory over a current Big East team.

It was Bucknell’s second straight road upset as the Bison defeated defending Atlantic 10 champion Saint Joseph’s 69-62 on Tuesday. The last time the Bison won six consecutive non-conference games was 1958-59.

(4) North Carolina 105, William & Mary 66: Sean May scored 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting to lead the Tar Heels (12-1) past the Tribe (4-6) at Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Tar Heels have won 12 in a row since losing to Santa Clara in the opener.

Jawad Williams had 19 points, Rashad McCants added 15 and Raymond Felton finished with 12 assists for North Carolina.

(5) Wake Forest 89, (25) Virginia 70: Chris Paul had 21 points and nine assists to lead the Demon Deacons (12-1, 1-0 ACC) past the Cavaliers at Charlottesville, Va., for their seventh straight win.

Freshman Adrian Joseph, starting in place of injured leading scorer Devin Smith, had 19 points for the Cavaliers (8-2, 0-1), who lost their 10th straight conference opener.

(6) Duke 62, Clemson 54: J.J. Redick had 20 of his 24 points in the second half and role player Lee Melchionni made two clutch 3-pointers, helping the Blue Devils (9-0) rally past the Tigers (9-4) at Durham, N.C., in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

(15) Texas 89, UNLV 82: P.J. Tucker had 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Longhorns (10-2), who used a late 12-1 run to take control at Austin, Texas.

Romel Beck and Jerel Blassingame each had 17 points for the Runnin’ Rebels (6-5). They combined for nine points – all on 3-pointers – in a 10-0 run that gave the Rebels a 50-48 lead with 13:30 to play.

West Virginia 82, (17) N.C. State 69: Johannes Herber and Mike Gansey each scored 15 points to give the Mountaineers their best start in more than 40 years after defeating the Wolf Pack (10-3) at Raleigh, N.C.

Patrick Beilen and Tyrone Sally each scored 11 points for West Virginia, which improved to 10-0 for the first time since the 1959-60 season when Jerry West played for the Mountaineers.

Freshman Andrew Brackman scored 19 points in his first start for the Wolfpack, who played without leading scorer Julius Hodge.

(19) Louisville 98, Tennessee St. 64: Francisco Garcia matched his career-high with 29 points, including eight straight during a 27-4 run, and the Cardinals (11-2) pulled away from the Tigers (5-9) at Louisville, Ky.

Garcia hit four 3-pointers and Larry O’Bannon added three over Tennessee State’s zone as Louisville hit 12 from behind the arc despite the absence of 3-point specialist Taquan Dean because of back spasms.