BIG MEN LEAD TAR HEELS PAST FURMAN, 74-61

CHAPEL HILL— Dawson Garcia scored 20 points and grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds, Armando Bacot had his sixth double-double of the season and North Carolina pulled away in the second half to be beat Furman 74-61 on Tuesday night.

Bacot finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Brady Manek scored 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and Caleb Love added 10 points for North Carolina (8-2). The Tar Heels have won five games in a row — allowing 63 or fewer over that span after giving up at least 83 points in the previous four.

Bacot threw down back-to-back dunks to spark a 13-2 run that he capped with a pair of layups 22 seconds apart to give the Tar Heels the lead for good and made it 54-43 with 15:51 to play.

Furman (7-4) twice trimmed its deficit before RJ Davis made a jumper with 14:29 left and the Paladins trailed by double figures the rest of the way.

Alex Hunter led Furman with 21 points. Jalen Slawson added 12 points, seven assists and six rebounds.

Garcia scored the game’s first seven points as UNC jumped to an 11-3 lead before the Paladins caught fire. They made eight straight field-goal attempts and finished the first half shooting 15 of 28 (53%) from the field and hitting eight 3-pointers. The Tar Heels outrebounded Furman 21-10, including a 9-1 advantage on the offensive glass, and scored 13 second-chance points before going into halftime tied at 39-all.

UNC is 24-2 all-time against the Paladins, though it was the first meeting between the programs since December 22, 1986.