Cormac Ryan scored a career-high 31 points and No. 7 North Carolina withstood rallies from No. 9 Duke for an 84-79 road victory, clinching outright possession of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship Saturday night at Durham, N.C.
Ryan, who set the tone with early 3-point shooting, canned six long-range shots, including a clutch late-game dagger as the Tar Heels completed a regular-season sweep of their neighbors.
Harrison Ingram, in his first game at Duke’s gym, provided 14 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (25-6, 17-3 ACC).
This was the 50th time these teams met with both holding a Top 10 ranking in the stored rivalry, and the Tar Heels have won 26 of those matchups.
Kyle Filipowski poured in 23 points, Jared McCain notched 19 points, Tyrese Proctor had 14 points and Jeremy Roach added 13 points for Duke (24-7, 15-5).
Ryan, a first-year Tar Heel, also was on the winning side in Cameron Indoor Stadium three years ago when he played for Notre Dame, made six of eight 3-point attempts and was 8-for-12 overall from the field and 9-for-10 on free-throw attempts.
Duke hung around at 75-69, but Filipowski missed on the next possession. Ryan connected on a 3 after a Duke turnover that all but sealed the deal.
Still, it was 80-76 before two Ryan free throws. Roach’s 3 cut it to 82-79 with 5.8 seconds left. Ryan made two more foul shots to end the scoring.
North Carolina had a 39-28 rebounding edge, aided by eight boards from reserving Jae’Lyn Withers.
Duke, which trailed by as many as 15, was within 43-42 after an 11-3 burst to start the second half.
The Tar Heels got things under control, partly because of a 7-0 run.
In the first half, Ryan had three early 3-pointers as North Carolina jumped out to a 21-6 lead. ACC scoring leader RJ Davis didn’t have a point until his 3-pointer made the score 30-15.
Duke closed within seven, but the Tar Heels went to halftime with a 40-31 advantage despite committing more turnovers and attempting fewer free throws than the Blue Devils.
–Field Level Media