Brady Manek racked up 24 points and North Carolina excelled in the final three minutes of overtime to beat host Louisville 90-83 in their Atlantic Coast Conference matchup on Tuesday night.
Armando Bacot provided 19 points and 22 rebounds, RJ Davis had 18 points, Caleb Love 16 points and Leaky Black 13 points as the Tar Heels (16-6, 8-3 ACC) won their fourth consecutive game in advance of Saturday night’s home matchup with No. 9 Duke.
El Ellis scored all 25 of his points after halftime and sparked a huge second-half rally for Louisville (11-11, 5-7). Matt Cross had 13 points and 15 rebounds, Jae’Lyn Withers added 12 points and Sydney Curry 10.
Louisville made a season-high 15 shots from 3-point range, using 35 attempts.
The Cardinals were in their second game since Chris Mack’s departure as coach. Mike Pegues filling the coaching assignment for the rest of the season.
North Carolina’s previous seven games were decided by double-figure margins. On Tuesday, all of the team’s points came from the starters.
A technical foul on Withers with 1:10 to play in overtime resulted in two free throws for Love as the Tar Heels went up 86-81. Then at 86-83, Pegues was assessed a technical foul as items were thrown on the court from the crowd.
Down the stretch in regulation, Love had made only one of his first 12 shots from the field, but his jumper at the 3:15 mark allowed North Carolina to pull even. It extended to a 7-0 run on Davis’ 3-pointer.
Ellis made two free throws with 1:17 to play to send the Cardinals to a 72-71 lead. Then Bacot powered through for a three-point play.
Ellis missed at the other end, but his steal and basket tied the score at the 15-second mark. Davis then had his potential go-ahead shot blocked by Withers to cap regulation.
North Carolina went up 55-45 before Louisville’s 12-0 run. That was extended to a 17-3 spurt, with the first 15 of those points coming on 3-point baskets. Ellis had four treys during that stretch.
North Carolina led 36-35 at halftime, with Louisville’s seven-point lead early in the game the largest spread of the half.
The Tar Heels are 4-3 in road games.
Louisville was without Malik Williams, who has been suspended indefinitely for failing to meet “team standards,” Pegues said earlier in the day.
–Field Level Media