CLEMSON, S.C. – In a physical and intense conference battle, the No. 8 North Carolina men’s basketball team (11-3, 3-0 ACC) outlasted No. 16 Clemson (11-3, 1-2 ACC), winning, 65-55, Saturday afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum. UNC is 3-0 in the ACC for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
The Tar Heels out-rebounded Clemson, 44-33, and held the Tigers to just 36 percent shooting from the field. Entering the afternoon shooting 39 percent from three, Clemson was just 1-18 from beyond the arc on Saturday. Graduate center Armando Bacot led the Tar Heels with 14 points and 16 rebounds.
“We stayed together,” junior forward Harrison Ingram said. “At the end of the day, all of us are dogs. We like that type of play style. We don’t want it to be easy, we want it to be hard.”
North Carolina got out to a hot start on offense, scoring 11 points in the first four minutes, and led by five at the first timeout. The Tigers fought back and took a 16-15 lead after a layup by forward Ian Schieffelin over Bacot.
But nice moves from Bacot in the paint and a little help from first-year forward Zayden High put the Tar Heels back ahead 21-20 at the under-eight timeout.
“We felt fortunate and good at halftime to be tied,” head coach Hubert Davis said.
Clemson finally knocked down a shot from behind the arc thanks to forward Chauncey Wiggins, only to be answered immediately by Ingram. UNC led 53-49 at the under-eight timeout after two more threes from sophomore guard Seth Trimble and graduate guard Paxson Wojcik.
An and-one layup in the post for Bacot and a nifty finish from Davis allowed the Tar Heels to take a 5-point lead with just under four minutes to play.
