ACC Hoops: Tar Heels Race Past Hurricanes, 92-73

March 1,2025 

Ven-Allen Lubin scored 19 points, Jae’Lyn Withers had 11 points and 10 rebounds and North Carolina beat Miami 92-73 on Saturday at the Smith Center for its fifth straight victory, the Tar Heels’ longest win streak this season. 

Lubin was 9-of-10 from the floor and Withers collected his third double-double this season. Drake Powell added 16 points, RJ Davis 13, Ian Jackson 11 and Seth Trimble 10 for the Tar Heels (19-11, 12-6 ACC), who shot 59%, made 10 of 18 3-pointers and outrebounded the Hurricanes 38-26. Davis went over 2,600 career points, second all-time at UNC behind Tyler Hansbrough. 

Matthew Cleveland was 12-of-21 shooting to finish with 25 points for Miami (6-23, 2-16), which lost its fifth straight. Brandon Johnson added 20 points. The Hurricanes shot 43% while putting up 30 3-pointers, making nine. 

The Tar Heels took a double-digit lead for good late in the first half and cruised to the victory with two regular-season games left before the ACC Tournament. UNC stretched a 15-point halftime lead to as many as 21. 

Led by Withers’ nine points and seven rebounds, nine UNC players scored in the first half in taking a 46-31 lead. The Tar Heels shot 52%, made 7 of 12 from the 3-point line and were plus-nine on the boards. Cleveland had 14 points for the Hurricanes, who led only at 3-0. Trimble hit a pair of 3-pointers to kick off a 12-2 run to end the half for UNC. 

North Carolina shot nearly 70 percent in the second half. It was Carolina’s second-best shooting day of the season, and the 68.0 percent second-half shooting marked its best half since 2022. The Tar Heels are averaging 90.8 points per game during their five-game winning streak after averaging 80.0 previously this season. Six Carolina players scored in double figures, and UNC hit 10 of 18 three-pointers as a team (55.6 percent).

Notable postgame comments: 

Bill Courtney, Head Coach of Miami: “Seth Trimble buried a couple of threes, then Withers buried a couple of threes.” “When they shoot like that, they are hard to guard because they are so good off the bounce. They present a lot of challenges.” 

Seth Trimble UNC guard: “We’ve kind of had that chip on our shoulder, that extra edge, because we don’t have too much room for error. If we would have lost this game, we would have absolutely been done. Or if we lost the game before at Florida State. We know it’s kind of a do-or-die. We know the situation that we’re in, but everybody’s embracing it and kind of taking it on the chin and accepting it.” 

UNC Coach Hubert Davis: “The only thing that is of importance to us is what is right in front of us, The opportunity to be able to compete against a Virginia Tech team on their home floor is something that we’re focused and zeroed in on.”  

North Carolina plays at Virginia Tech on Tuesday and finishes the regular season at home against No. 2 Duke next Saturday. 

Miami plays at Georgia Tech on Tuesday and at home against N.C. State next Saturday.