PITTSBURGH, PA.—Eighth-ranked North Carolina overcame a poor shooting night, rallied and beat Pittsburgh, 70-57, on Tuesday night in the Petersen Events Center.
In a defensive slugfest, the Tar Heels limited the Panthers to 5 of 29 shooting from three-point range (17.2 percent) while overcoming a poor shooting night of their own (36.5 percent overall) with a strong performance in the second half.
Armando Bacot became the seventh Carolina player to score 2,000 points, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his 74th career double-double. RJ Davis scored 15, Cormac Ryan tallied 10 points and seven rebounds and Seth Trimble had his second strong game in a row with 10 points and six boards.
Harrison Ingram saw his streak of consecutive double-digit scoring games end at 22 but recorded seven points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
The Tar Heels improved to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the victory in their first road game of the season. Pitt fell to 9-5, 0-3.
Carolina snapped a three-game losing streak to the Panthers, who had won five of six in the series against UNC prior to Tuesday night.
The first half was far from an offensive showcase, as both teams shot poorly (UNC 31.4% and Pitt 35.3%) and the Tar Heels didn’t score a point in the first six minutes. Carolina was 3 for 12 from three-point range and Pitt was 2 for 14 in the opening 20 minutes.
Pitt missed 11 of 12 shots during a late-game stretch, allowing the Tar Heels to build their biggest lead to that point at 64-51 with under two minutes to play.
Carolina’s defense held Blake Hinson, who entered the game leading the ACC in three-pointers per game, to 2 for 11 shooting from behind the arc. Pitt shot 17.2 percent (5 for 29) as a team from three-point range.
How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina missed its first 10 shots from the floor and didn’t score a point until a Davis three-pointer over six minutes into the contest.
• Ryan gave UNC its first lead of the night with 6:48 remaining in the half when he drained a long two-pointer from the corner to make it 15-14.
• Trimble provided an early spark off the bench with nine points and five rebounds before halftime.
• Pitt led for 12:43 first-half minutes to UNC’s 5:41.
• The Tar Heels grabbed eight offensive rebounds and converted them into an 11-0 advantage in second-chance points.
Second Half
• Carolina forced Pitt to miss 12 of its first 17 shots coming out of halftime.
Up Next
Carolina will play the second of three consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference road games when it visits Clemson on Saturday January 6. After a game at NC State on January 10, UNC’s next ACC home game will be on Saturday January 13 against Syracuse.
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