CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — North Carolina looked inside to avenge its loss to N.C. State with an 86-76 victory Saturday at the Dean E. Smith Center. The Tar Heels scored 48 points in the paint led by 17 from Armando Bacot and 16 from Day'Ron Sharpe.
The win moved Carolina (10-5, 5-3 ACC) to 33-5 against N.C. State during coach Roy Williams' tenure in Chapel Hill. N.C. State (6-5, 2-4), playing for the first time since its program paused due to COVID-19 quarantines, is now on a four-game losing streak.
Carolina led by 13 with 5:41 left when the Pack used a 7-0 spurt to pull within six for the first time since early in the half. Braxton Beverly's second 3-pointer of the game made it 72-66 and the cheering from the visitor's bench made a dent in the cavernous Dean E. Smith Center silence.
Kerwin Walton answered with a 3-pointer only to watch Devon Daniels knock one down for NCSU to signal the last four minutes of the game was going to be a battle.
The Tar Heels were ready for one. Caleb Love, who finished with 15 points, made a pair of free throws and after Sharpe's outstretched arm made Beverly miss a layup, the Heels pushed their lead back to 10. Love missed a 3-pointer, but Anthony Harris scooped it out of the air for the put-back and a 79-69 lead with 2:17 left.
Harris, just in his third game back after rehabilitating a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, was again a spark for the Heels off the bench. He finished with 10 points in just 11 minutes.
In N.C. State's win, its bench played a big role, specifically Shakeel Moore scoring 17. But Moore's play was limited to just four minutes and he was scoreless.
Daniels again led the Pack in scoring with a game-high 21 points. D.J. Funderburk (14), Beverly (12), Jericole Hellems (11) and Manny Bates (10) all joined him in double figures scoring.
