Armando Bacot had 14 points and 16 rebounds as No. 8 North Carolina earned a 65-55 road victory over No. 16 Clemson on Saturday in an early ACC showdown of top teams.
RJ Davis added 14 points for the Tar Heels (11-3, 3-0 ACC), who held Clemson to 36.2 percent shooting from the field. Cormac Ryan added 10 points for North Carolina.
Chase Hunter led Clemson (11-3, 1-2) with 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting, while Ian Schieffelin chipped in 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who were 1 of 18 (5.6 percent) from 3-point range.
PJ Hall, Clemson’s leading scorer who entered at 20.2 points per game, struggled throughout, scoring 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting, including 0-for-5 on 3-point attempts. Hall also fouled out as Clemson lost its second straight game in ACC play.
With Clemson trailing 39-38, Chauncey Wiggins knocked down Clemson’s first 3-pointer of the day, following 14 misses from long range to begin the game, giving the Tigers a 41-39 lead with 13:20 remaining. It would be their last lead of the day.
North Carolina’s Harrison Ingram followed with a 3-pointer of his own to give the Tar Heels the lead again, followed by a Davis triple on the next possession for a 45-41 lead with 10:30 remaining.
A Hall layup cut the Clemson deficit to 58-55 with 5:02 left, but the Tigers would not score again. Clemson missed its last six shots from the floor, as well as two free-throw attempts by Hall.
Clemson owned a dominant free-throw advantage in the first half, connecting on 12 of 14, while North Carolina was 1 of 3. The score was tied 34-34 at halftime, with neither team leading by more than six in the first half.
Ryan paced North Carolina’s scoring in the first half with 10 points, while Schieffelin led Clemson, also with 10.
–Field Level Media
