Armando Bacot scored 14 points and No. 22 North Carolina shook off early struggles to hand Kentucky another loss, 75-63, on Saturday afternoon in the CBS Sports Classic in Cleveland.

Kerwin Walton added 13 points and Garrison Brooks and Caleb Love each scored 11 for the Tar Heels (5-2), who overcame weak shooting from 3-point range (5 of 20) and the free-throw line (18 of 29).

Davion Mintz had 17 points and Brandon Boston Jr. scored 15 for the Wildcats (1-5), losers of five straight. Devin Askew added 12 points as Kentucky also struggled from downtown (3 of 13) and at the line (18 of 30).

North Carolina's Andrew Platek hit a 3-pointer followed by a Brooks dunk for a 61-54 lead to spark the finishing stretch.

Earlier, the Tar Heels used a 12-1 run to grab a 54-49 lead just past the midway juncture of the second half.

Kentucky dealt with foul trouble, with four players picking up three fouls with more than 16 minutes left. Three of them had four fouls at the 8-minute mark -- and then had Lance Ware foul out with 7:34 left, Isaiah Jackson exit with 6:48 remaining, Olivier Sarr leave with 4:33 to play and Terrence Clark with 1:09 left.

North Carolina was without guard RJ Davis for a long stretch at the beginning of the second half because of a knee injury.

Kentucky took an early 19-8 lead before the Tar Heels posted seven straight points in a 63-second span to tighten the score. Still, the Wildcats posted 14 second-chance points off nine first-half offensive rebounds for a 38-34 edge at the break.

North Carolina holds a 25-16 edge in the series, including 13-6 at neutral sites. This marked the Tar Heels' first game at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, home of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.

Until a midweek change for the matchups in this doubleheader because of coronavirus testing protocols, North Carolina was to face No. 20 Ohio State, with Kentucky taking on UCLA. Instead, Ohio State and UCLA were set to meet in the second game of the twin bill.

--Field Level Media