Raleigh, NC- Ian Jackson scored 21 points, but it was Jalen Washington who made the game-winning basket following it up with a block to give North Carolina a 63-61 victory over N.C. State on Saturday afternoon at the Lenovo Center.
It was tied at 61 when Washington’s dunk broke the deadlock with 24 seconds remaining. Washington proceeded to then block Jayden Taylor’s layup try to seal it. Washington blocked three shots and recorded his first career double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Jackson made five 3-pointers and finished 8-of-15 shooting. RJ Davis added 11 points for North Carolina. With the win North Carolina is now 11-3 overall and 7-1 in the ACC.
North Carolina has found success at Lenovo Center with a 9-2 record in the last few years. They got to win number 10 on Saturday. Ian Jackson scored 21 points by shooting 8-of-15 from the field. Ian Jackson had his sixth twenty plus point game this season and his fifth in the last six games. The Tar Heels won their third straight game and have not lost back-to-back games to N.C. State since the 2002-03 season. Scoring was difficult in the first half for both teams. Defense highlighted the opening 20 minutes.
Marcus Hill scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds for N.C. State which has lost three of its last four games. Jayden Taylor had 12 points and Ben Middlebrooks had 14 rebounds. The Wolfpack fall to 9-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play. Marcus Hill shot 5 of 12 from the field roughly 10 minutes into the game. The rest of the Wolfpack was 0 of 11. The Tarheels had a late 10-0 run in the first, which resulted in a six-point halftime lead. The Tar Heels 26 points was the lowest total point score in the first half this season.
Both teams shot better out in the second half and N.C. State found a rhythm on the offensive end. The Wolfpack shot 15 of 20 (60%) from the field, one of its best single-half shooting percentages of the season. It was North Carolina that led by as many as nine points in the second before N.C. State surged back. The Wolfpack tied the game with 1:29 remaining on a layup from Hill.
The Tar Heels led for most of the game. They held a lead by as many as nine points, 56-47, with about six minutes remaining. Marcus Hill scored six points as part of a 12-2 run to give the Wolfpack a 59-58 edge with 2:28 remaining. The Tar Heels outscored the Wolfpack in the paint 34-28 and scored 16 fast-break points to NC State’s 10. North Carolina enjoyed sharing the ball with 17 assists to only 7 for NC State. The Wolfpack was especially dreadful for deep going 3-of-19 a dreadful 15.8%.
North Carolina aims for a four game win streak when it hosts California on Wednesday at the Smith Center. The Wolfpack go on the road to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech on Wednesday.
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