The No. 7 North Carolina men’s basketball team (12-3, 4-0 ACC) defeated N.C. State (11-4, 3-1 ACC), 67-54, at PNC Arena on Wednesday evening, handing the Wolfpack its first home loss of the season.
"I told [the team] after the game that they're not playing good defense; they're playing elite defense," head coach Hubert Davis said.
For the first time in 50 years, the rivals entered this matchup both 3-0 or better in ACC play. Senior guard RJ Davis’ 16 points led all scorers, while N.C. State big man DJ Burns Jr. had 11 points on 4-8 shooting. Junior forward Harrison Ingram grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds.
After the first 12 minutes, the Tar Heels led 17-16, backed by a pair of triples from graduate guard Cormac Ryan and two post-ups from junior forward Harrison Ingram. Burns led N.C. State with seven points — all off of isolation looks on graduate center Armando Bacot, including an and-1 bucket.
Bacot was assessed a technical after pushing forward Ben Middlebrooks on a fastbreak. Meanwhile, Davis — the ACC’s leading scorer — had a cold start, making just one of his five shot attempts but sinking on a 3-pointer towards the end of the first period. UNC led 30-28 at halftime.
"We knew if we just stuck to what we know, we'd be fine," Bacot said.
While N.C. State was able to pull within two points midway through the second frame, the Tar Heels maintained control over the bout thanks to Davis finding his stroke from beyond the arc, going 3-5.
Also, sophomore guard Seth Trimble was a spark off the bench with two fastbreak layups and first-year guard Elliot Cadeau added seven second-half points, along with six assists on the night. Ingram didn’t slow down after the break, corralling nine second-half rebounds and adding a 3-pointer.
"His play, and how hard he played, got us through the game," Bacot said of Ingram.
