UNC Defeats Boston College At Home

CHAPEL HILL, NC – The UNC Tar Heels (12-6, 5-3 ACC) hosted Boston College (8-11, 2-6 ACC)  at the Dean Smith Center and earned a victory of 72-64 on January 17th.

With a success over the Boston College Eagles, the North Carolina Tar Heels picked up their second straight win. In their all-time meetings with the Eagles, the Tar Heels are 21-6, including 19-5 since BC joined the ACC in the 2005–06 season. In the last 16 games of the series, North Carolina has prevailed 15 times.

Jalen Washington, a freshman, was forced to sit out of the game for North Carolina because of an ankle injury. To many’s surprise, Pete Nance was available and quickly returned to his starting position.

At halftime, North Carolina was up 31-26 and never trailed. With good numbers of runs for both teams, North Carolina was able to take the lead due to explosive offensive play from three of the starting five players, despite Boston College’s attempt to scupper UNC’s spotless home record. 

With 12:39 remaining, Davis’ 3-pointer gave North Carolina a 52-41 lead. In the following six minutes, the Eagles responded with a 14-3 run, cutting their lead to 56-55 on Jaeden Zackery’s basket with 6:07 left. However, after a BC turnover and less than 60 seconds had passed, Caleb Love responded with a 3-pointer and a layup, and Davis made two free throws to prevent an upset. The Eagles were never within four points the rest of the way.

R.J. Davis added 18 points, while Armando Bacot scored 20 points and pulled down 16 rebounds. Bacot recorded his 60th double-double overall and his 11th of the current campaign. He is currently tied with Billy Cunningham of the Naismith Hall of Fame for the UNC double-double record. Bacot’s effort with 16 rebounds was his 21st game with 15 or more boards.

For Boston College, Quinten Post scored 17 points, while Zackery added 14. The Eagles hit 12 of 14 free throw attempts, while all six 3-point attempts were unsuccessful.

The free throw line was where North Carolina had the most difficulty, going 10 for 17 attempts. Nevertheless, UNC outrebounded Boston College 37 to 27 and kept them without a three-pointer in six tries.

The defeat is beneficial for North Carolina’s status in the ACC as they now occupy the second spot, three games behind the leader. Additionally, this victory prepares them for their much-awaited matchup with local rival NC State. On January 21, UNC will have a chance to respond to the team’s trading blows.