Field Level Media
Jan 20, 2018
Luke Maye scored 17 points to lead four North Carolina players in double figures as the No. 15 Tar Heels turned away Georgia Tech for an 80-66 victory Saturday afternoon at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Joel Berry and Cameron Johnson both scored 16 points and Theo Pinson added 11 points for North Carolina (16-4, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which won its fourth game in a row. Maye added 11 rebounds and Pinson grabbed 10.
Josh Okogie's 18 points and Jose Alvarado's 17 points led the Yellow Jackets, while Ben Lammers and Abdoulaye Gueye each scored 12 points for Georgia Tech (10-9, 3-3), which lost for the second time in three days after a four-game winning streak.
Berry missed all five of his first-half 3-point attempts, then buried his first long-range shot of the second half as the Tar Heels built a 40-30 advantage.
Jalek Felton's steal and dunk pushed the margin to 52-37 with 15:49 to play. The Yellow Jackets scored the next eight points.
Tadric Jackson's 3 cut the gap to 54-49, but he fouled out with more than four minutes to play on an offensive foul.
Georgia Tech was within 70-62 with 3:21 left when a foul and technical foul on Alvarado resulted in three Berry free throws. Berry made two more foul shots at the 2:56 mark as the margin grew to 75-62.
The Tar Heels held a 19-3 edge in made free throws.
North Carolina led 35-28 at halftime, bolstered by reserve forward Sterling Manley's nine points.
North Carolina committed 10 first-half turnovers (of its 14 for the game). But Georgia Tech's 1-for-9 shooting on 3-pointers offset the turnovers.
Georgia Tech went up 22-17 by using a 10-0 run as the Tar Heels went about 5 1/2 minutes without scoring.
Lammers ended up with his best scoring outing in ACC play this season, but he scored only two points after halftime.
The Tar Heels won their 15th consecutive ACC home game. Georgia Tech dropped to 1-4 in road games this season.
--Field Level Media