CHARLOTTE — RJ Davis scored 23 points and connected on key 3-point shots as North Carolina fended off Wake Forest for a 68-59 victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinal Thursday afternoon.
Ven-Allen Lubin and Seth Trimble added 10 points apiece for North Carolina, which won for the second day in a row and avenged a one-point road loss to Wake from the regular season.
The fifth-seeded Tar Heels (22-12) will face No. 1 Duke, a 78-70 quarterfinal winner against Georgia Tech, in the first semifinal.
Davis shot 5-for-6 on 3-pointers, but missed all three attempts from inside the arc. He went 8-for-8 on free throws in a hotly contested matchup.
North Carolina has made a late-season charge and figures to be contending for an NCAA Tournament bid. The Tar Heels have won eight of their last nine games, with the loss coming last Saturday night to visiting Duke.
The outcome likely dooms the chances for fourth-seeded Wake Forest (21-11) to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Hunter Sallis poured in 25 points and Tre’Von Spillers racked up 10 points for Wake Forest, which shot 33.9 percent from the field and missed 11 of its last 12 shots from the floor. The Demon Deacons shot 2-for-22 from the 3-point arc.
Part of Wake Forest’s shooting woes came from two blocked shots by Lubin late in the game. Lubin also had 13 rebounds.
Wake Forest became the first higher-seeded team to lose in the tournament this week as all the favored teams, based on seedings, had won.
North Carolina missed 15 of 16 shots during a nearly 12-minute stretch in the second half, yet led 57-56 on Jae’Lyn Withers’ 3-pointer.
Lubin’s free throw with 3:14 left broke a tie and Davis followed with a 3-pointer on the Tar Heels’ next possession. The triple came after one of Lubin’s blocked shots.
Wake Forest surged early to a 14-3 lead, but North Carolina ended the first half on an 18-9 run for a 33-31 advantage.
The Tar Heels kept it going for a 42-32 lead on Davis’ 3-pointer less than 3 1/2 minutes into the second half.
–Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
