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
