by Matt Bowers, UNC Athletic Communications
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—RJ Davis tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds and Armando Bacot added a double-double of his own as North Carolina beat Georgia Tech, 75-59, in a Saturday matinee in the Smith Center.
The win snapped a four-game UNC losing streak and improved the Tar Heels to 6-4 overall in 2022-23, including 1-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Georgia Tech fell to 6-4, 0-1 in its conference opener.
Davis posted 22 points, 10 rebounds and three assists.
“It felt great to be back on our home court and have that advantage and feeling,” Davis said postgame. “We played with a sense of urgency today on both ends of the floor for a full 40 minutes.”
Bacot returned to the lineup after missing the Virginia Tech game with a shoulder injury and played well, posting 21 points and 13 rebounds for his 54th career double-double. It was Bacot’s 61st career game with double-figure rebounds, tying Billy Cunningham (1962-65) for most in school history.
It also was Bacot’s 15th career 20-10 game, and he passed George Lynch for third in school history in career rebounds.
Pete Nance pitched in 11 points and six rebounds in an efficient effort that produced a team-high plus/minus of +22.
“We have to be inside-out,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis said. “We can’t be outside-in. We have Armando, and we have Pete. So we have to use them. We have to throw the ball down low on the blocks and let them use their gifts and talents to be able not only to score, but to open up shots for our guards on the perimeter and also get us in the penalty. We are a really good free throwing team.”Caleb Love added 10 points and five assists despite 4 of 12 shooting.
Carolina closed the first half on a 16-2 run to take a 39-26 lead into halftime after holding the Yellow Jackets to just 10 of 30 shooting from the floor (33.3 percent) in the opening 20 minutes.
UNC then shot 50 percent in the second half to hold on for the comfortable win despite also allowing Tech to shoot 50 percent after halftime.
The Tar Heels dominated the boards, grabbing 43 rebounds to Tech’s 22. Carolina had a 36-22 edge in points in the paint and a 17-3 advantage in fast break points.
Carolina will return to action on Tuesday December 13 at home against The Citadel at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.
Notables:
• This was the fifth time this century two Tar Heels had 20 points and 10 rebounds in the same game. The others were Luke Maye and Theo Pinson vs. NC State in 2017-18, Harrison Barnes and John Henson vs. LIU in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, Sean May and Marvin Williams vs. Iowa State in the 2005 NCAA Tournament and Joseph Forte and Brendan Haywood at Virginia in 1990-2000.
• The Tar Heels improved to 72-27 all-time against Georgia Tech, including 32-6 in Chapel Hill and 27-5 in the Smith Center.
• UNC has won three in a row and 12 of the last 15 meetings with the Yellow Jackets, as well as 19 of the last 21 matchups in the Smith Center.
• Carolina won its fourth consecutive ACC home opener.
• Armando Bacot returned to the starting lineup after missing the Dec. 4 game at Virginia Tech. Bacot suffered a right shoulder contusion during the Nov. 30 game at Indiana.
• Bacot finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds for his 54th career double-double, second most in UNC history.
• Bacot has 61 career double-figure rebounding games, tying Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham for the Carolina school record.
• It was Bacot’s 15th career 20 point-10 rebound game.
• Bacot passed George Lynch for third in school history in career rebounds. He trails only second-place Sam Perkins and leader Tyler Hansbrough.
• RJ Davis scored 22 points for his second 20-point game of the season and the seventh of his career. He also posted his second double-figure rebounding game of the year, finishing with 10 boards.
• Freshman forward Jalen Washington played the final 2+ minutes of the game to make his first appearance as a Tar Heel after missing the first nine games of this season due to injury.
• D’Marco Dunn missed his second consecutive game after breaking a bone in his left hand in practice on December 3. He is expected to miss several weeks of action.
