Midway through its 10th ACC game, No. 8 North Carolina leads Miami, 31-30, at halftime in the Smith Center. Luke Maye (12 points) and Nassir Little (seven points) have played well for the Tar Heels, but some timely runs and rebounding from the Hurricanes have kept things close.
North Carolina scored its first two baskets on uncontested dunks, as Coby White and Luke Maye both picked off Miami passes near halfcourt. But, with three early turnovers of its own, UNC trailed Miami, 8-4, at the first media timeout.
More sloppiness followed; the Tar Heels, however, did use a small 7-3 run to pull within one point, 12-11, by the next break. The Hurricanes then fell into a few scoring droughts. That, combined with UNC’s 3-point shooting and seven points from Nassir Little off the bench, forced Miami into a timeout at the 5:27 mark, trailing 24-17.
The Hurricanes regrouped after that break, tying things up at 26. Maye then rattled off five straight points — two free throws and an and-one dunk — to give the Tar Heels one more small boost. Guards Anthony Lawrence III and Chris Lykes shouldered most of Miami’s offensive load. Lykes hit a layup with four seconds left in the half to make it a 31-30 game at the half.
