MENS BASKETBALL

North Carolina 103, Syracuse 67

BY MITCHELL NORTHAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - RJ Davis scored 22 points to help No. 7 North Carolina race away from Syracuse for a 103-67 victory.

Armando Bacot added 16 points and 11 rebounds as the Tar Heels (13-3, 5-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their sixth consecutive game. Harrison Ingram also had a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Jalen Washington had 11 points and Jae’Lyn Withers chipped in 10.

Judah Mintz led Syracuse (11-5, 2-3) with 21 points. Quadir Copeland added 16 points and Chris Bell had 13.

The Tar Heels pulled away from Syracuse with a 34-11 run over a stretch of about 11 minutes midway through the first half. While the Orange shot 2 of 15 from the floor and had seven turnovers during that span, Davis had 10 points for the Tar Heels, which pushed UNC’s lead to 27 points.

Syracuse trimmed the deficit to 15 points near the start of the second half but never got any closer. The Tar Heels later used a 20-8 run to increase their lead to 39 points, their largest of the game. Washington had five points and a steal during that surge for UNC.

BIG PICTURE

Syracuse: The Orange entered this contest having won six of their last seven games, but they are now 0-4 on the season against AP Top 25 ranked opponents. Syracuse’s history of bad luck inside the Dean Smith Center continued — the Orange are 0-7 all-time in Chapel Hill — as it suffered its most lopsided loss of the season.

North Carolina: UNC topped 100 points scored for the third time this year and is off to its best start in ACC play since going 8-0 to begin the 2015-16 season. Key for UNC against Syracuse was its proficiency inside, outscoring the Orange 58-32 in the paint and winning the rebounding battle 53-30.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS

North Carolina athletics press release

January 13, 2024