R.J. Davis tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds as North Carolina snapped a four-game losing streak Saturday, beating visiting Georgia Tech 75-59 in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Davis shot 8-of-13 from the floor and had three assists for the Tar Heels (6-4, 1-1 ACC). UNC also got a boost from the return of Armando Bacot, who missed UNC's ACC opener at Virginia Tech last Sunday with a shoulder injury. Bacot played 34 minutes Saturday, shot 8 of 16 from the floor and notched 21 points and 13 boards. Pete Nance had 11 points and Caleb Love added 10.
Georgia Tech (6-4, 0-1 ACC) was led by 15 points and four rebounds from Miles Kelly. Jalon Moore added 15 points and Dallan Coleman tallied 13.
The Yellow Jackets led briefly by a single point in the first half at 24-23, but UNC quickly retook the lead on a 3-pointer by Davis. That connection from deep range -- at the 4:54 mark in the first half -- was the first 3-pointer UNC made, and it was also the beginning of a 16-2 run for the Tar Heels to close the first half.
UNC grew its lead to as much as 20 points in the second half. Even during a stretch where the Heels missed six of seven shots, they still held onto a double-digit lead at 11 points.
Key for UNC was its dominance on the glass, as the Heels won the rebounding battle 43-22. UNC also outscored Georgia Tech in the paint 36-22 and held Georgia Tech to just three fast-break points.
The Yellow Jackets did connect on a season-high nine 3-pointers while UNC shot 3 of 13 from deep. But 20 personal fouls committed by Georgia Tech -- which led to 24 free-throw attempts for UNC -- offset any shooting advantage. In comparison, the Yellow Jackets only went to the charity stripe eight times.
--Field Level Media
Georgia Tech | North Carolina | |
Miles Kelly 15 | Scoring | RJ Davis 22 |
Deivon Smith 3 | Assists | Caleb Love 5 |
Jalon Moore 5 | Rebounds | Armando Bacot 13 |
Dallan Coleman 2 | Free Throws Made | Armando Bacot 5 |
Miles Kelly 3 | Steals | Leaky Black 3 |
Dallan Coleman 1 | Blocks | Armando Bacot 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Georgia Tech | 59 | 40.7 | 9-26 | 6-8 | 10 | 22 | 5 | 8 | 11 |
North Carolina | 75 | 47.4 | 3-13 | 18-24 | 15 | 41 | 1 | 5 | 11 |