DANIELS, NCSU DOWN TAR HEELS, 79-76

by Aaron Beard, Associated Press

RALEIGH—Devon Daniels scored eight straight points in the second half and finished with 21 to help North Carolina State beat 17th-ranked North Carolina 79-76 on Tuesday night.

Freshman Shakeel Moore scored 17 points for the Wolfpack (5-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who blew nearly all of a 17-point first-half lead in an unusually early meeting in the longtime rivalry.

But N.C. State responded with a 14-2 run after UNC (5-2, 0-1) got within a point, then did just enough down the stretch to hold off the Tar Heels’ late rally to win for only the fifth time in 37 meetings.
Daniels hit a free throw with 9.3 seconds left to push the margin to three, then UNC’s RJ Davis and Caleb Love missed final-possession 3-pointers.

N.C. State was playing its third game after a two-week pause due to coronavirus issues and the Wolfpack didn’t have top big man DJ Funderburk.

Armando Bacot scored 16 points to lead the Tar Heels, who had won seven straight games on the Wolfpack’s homecourt.

BIG PICTURE
UNC: The Tar Heels continue to put themselves in big first-half holes. They fell behind by 16 in losses to No. 4 Iowa and No. 10 Texas, and rallied from double-digit deficits in wins against UNLV, North Carolina Central and Kentucky. This time, they fell behind 46-29 with 3:56 left before halftime, then spent the rest of the night fighting uphill. The Tar Heels also finished with 18 turnovers, leading to 19 points for the Wolfpack.

N.C. State: The Wolfpack added freshman guard Cam Hayes back into the mix after he missed last Thursday’s loss at St. Louis and a weekend win against Campbell. N.C. State again didn’t have Funderburk. Still, Manny Bates had his own huge game against UNC’s big front line, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

UP NEXT
UNC: The Tar Heels visit Georgia Tech on Dec. 30.
N.C. State: Boston College visits the Wolfpack on Dec. 30.