College basketball: Louisville avoids upset bid by Clemson

Christen Cunningham scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half to rally No. 16 Louisville, which hung on for a 56-55 victory over visiting Clemson on Saturday.

The Cardinals (18-8, 9-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) led 56-49 with 17 seconds left after a free throw by Steven Enoch but then nearly lost a third straight in disastrous fashion. Louisville saw a 23-point second-half lead evaporate against No. 2 Duke on Tuesday.

A turnover and a held ball in the Tigers end led to a pair of three-pointers by Marcquise Reed, the latter making it a one-point game with three seconds left. Louisville’s Jordan Nwora tried to inbound the ball, but Reed got the steal. Nwora redeemed himself by blocking Reed’s shot, and Clemson could not get off another shot before time ran out.

Cunningham hit 5 of 7 shots in the second half to help Louisville come back from a seven-point deficit.

Louisville was held to a season-low 19 first-half points thanks to shooting a season-worst 29.6% in the half. While Clemson wasn’t much better at 37%, the Tigers took a four-point lead at the break thanks to a three-pointer just before the buzzer by Clyde Trapp.

Elijah Thomas led the Tigers (15-10, 5-7) with 15 points. Reed had 13 points and 12 rebounds.

at No. 4 Virginia 60, Notre Dame 54: Kyle Guy scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter had 20 with 10 rebounds, and the Cavaliers withstood a late push by the Irish.

Hunter scored six points during a 9-0 run for the Cavaliers (22-2, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) after the Fighting Irish closed to within 45-44 with 8:12 left.

But Notre Dame (13-12, 3-9) then went more than five minutes without a point as Hunter scored inside and hit four free throws. Guy added a 3-pointer and it was 54-44 with less than five minutes to play.

at No. 6 Michigan 62, No. 24 Maryland 52: Charles Matthews scored 14 points and Iggy Brazdeikis added 13 to lift the Wolverines past the Terrapins.

Michigan (23-3, 12-3 Big Ten) rebounded from a loss at Penn State earlier in the week. Michigan raced out to a 14-2 advantage and led by as much as 15 in the first half. It was a struggle for the Wolverines after that, but the fast start was too much for Maryland (19-7, 10-5) to overcome.

Bruno Fernando scored all 12 of his points in the second half for the Terrapins.

No. 8 North Carolina 95, at Wake Forest 57: Cameron Johnson scored 27 points, and the Tar Heels scored the game’s first 18 points in rolling to the easy win over the Demon Deacons..

Freshman Coby White added 10 points, five rebounds and six assists for North Carolina (20-5, 10-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which dominated from the tip following its first loss in a month. The Tar Heels, who lost to fourth-ranked Virginia on Monday, ran out to leads of 18-0, 25-3 and 35-7. They shot 74% in the opening half and finished at 62% while making 16 of 25 three-pointers, with Johnson making his first eight shots and six from behind the arc.

Freshman Jaylen Hoard scored 17 points in an ugly afternoon for the Demon Deacons (9-15, 2-10), who suffered their most lopsided loss in three decades at Joel Coliseum.