RJ Davis scored 27 points and No. 17 North Carolina used a 22-0 second-half run to overcome visiting Florida State in a 78-70 victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at Chapel Hill, N.C.
Armando Bacot racked up 13 points and 13 rebounds and Harrison Ingram scored 11 points as the Tar Heels wiped out a 14-point deficit.
The Seminoles went through a scoring drought of nearly six minutes. Florida State (4-3) failed to hold a double-digit, second-half lead for the second straight game after leading by 17 and falling to visiting Georgia on Wednesday night.
Jamir Watkins led Florida State with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Baba Miller, De’Ante Green and Darin Green Jr. all had 12 points.
Before De’Ante Green, who did all his scoring in the second half, made a free throw at the 4:34 mark, North Carolina had surged to a 70-56 advantage. That started a 6-0 spurt for the Seminoles.
Florida State pulled within 71-65, but Davis drained a 3-pointer.
North Carolina went to the free-throw line regularly in the second half, finishing 25-for-31 from the stripe for the game. Florida State was 4-for-8 on foul shots.
North Carolina went ahead 58-56 on Elliot Cadeau’s drive at the 7:24 mark. That was less than six minutes from when Florida State was up 52-40.
The Tar Heels, who missed 11 consecutive 3-point attempts during a stretch spanning the two halves, finished 5-for-22 from beyond the arc. Davis had three of the 3s and also posted a game-high five assists.
North Carolina has won three games in a row since an overtime loss to Villanova in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals.
Florida State scored the last eight points of the first half for a 35-29 lead at the break. Watkins had 13 first-half points, with the Seminoles shooting 7-for-14 from 3-point range. That accounted for more than half of their 13 field goals.
–Field Level Media