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North Carolina, which hit 13 three pointers, never trailed but the Tar Heels did blow an 11-point lead to make for some late drama in an 88-82 victory in Syracuse. (2/15)

Carolina had to withstand a career high 26 points from Orange big man Eddie Lampkin and 20 second-half points from J.J. Starling. UNC’s Jae’lyn Withers, who got a rare start, and freshman Ian Jackson played big parts in offsetting the Syracuse effort.

Jackson, who hit five threes, scored 16 of his team-high 23 points in the first half as the Heels worked the lead up to 11 before settling for a 42-34 halftime edge.

In the second half, after Carolina held comfortable leads of seven to 11 points, Starling scored seven straight points to highlight an 8-0 Syracuse run that tied the game at 60-60.

With the Heels up just 65-64, Withers took over, scoring eight in a row including a pair of old-fashioned three-point plays. The second one came on a fastbreak rush by two defenders on a lead pass from R.J. Davis which made it 73-64 with 7:26 left.

“JWit came up huge for us,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “Yes, he was rebounding and he hit some threes (3) but where he helped us out the most was defensively. He played his best game of the season.”

When RJ Davis drilled a three from the right wing with 4:44 to go to make it 78-68, it looked like the Heels had the game under total control again.

But Carolina missed a couple of key free throws and Withers and Jalen Washington both fouled out, and Syracuse clawed back to winthin a basket at 82-80 with 58 seconds to go.

A drive-by layup by Eliot Cadeau and four free throws from Davis and Drake Powell wrapped it up.

“They have so much size that it makes it difficult with them in the zone (defense) for us to get to boards,” Coach Davis said. “You’ve got to knock down some jumpers.”

The Tar Heels outshot the Orange 49 percent to 44 percent and hit 13 of 28 threes while Syracuse only managed four of 13 from beyond the arc.

Carolina, which snapped a four-game road losing streak, is now 15-11 overall and 8-6 in the ACC. The Tar Heels host NC State Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Syracuse, 11-15 overall and 5-10 in the league, has now lost six of its last eight.

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North Carolina put up little resistance as a good Clemson team did whatever it wanted, including hitting 12 three pointers, to easily defeat the Tar Heels 85-65 in Littlejohn Auditorium. (2/10)

For the first 10 minutes of the game, Carolina stood toe-to-toe with the Tigers, fresh off a victory over first-place Duke. In fact, the Heels held a 23-21 lead with 9:22 left in the first half after RJ Davis side-stepped a defender and swished a three from the left wing.

But, Clemson’s Viktor Lakhin, a 6-foot-11 transfer from Cincinnati, hit one of his four threes on the way to 20 first-half points to give the Tigers a 24-23 lead that they would never reliquish.

The Tar Heels shot 50 percent in the first half and still trailed by 16 at the half as Clemson went on runs of 11-2 and 9-0 to break it open before the break.

“We were up in the first half and then they just took off,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “Lahkin got hot from three. We knew he had the ability to hit threes but that was the most he made all year.”

Lakhin, who had 15 threes all season, hit four in the first half and finished with a game-high 22 points and five blocks.

Coach Davis also pointed to turnovers and bad shot selection as reasons for the defeat. Both teams ended up turning the ball over 13 times but most of Clemson came late when UNC frantic, scrambling defense forced some turnovers. Many of Carolina’s turnovers were unforced and the offensive engine – guard Eliott Cadeau – committed six of them.

The 20-point defeat was the largest loss to Clemson in Carolina basketball history. The Tar Heels, led by Davis’ 18 points, fall to 14-11 overall and 7-6 in the ACC.

“There’s a responsibility with that jersey on to get back up and competitively fight,” Coach Davis said.

Carolina travels to Syracuse Saturday evening before hosting NC State Feb. 19.

Clemson, tied for second in the ACC, improves to 20-5 and 12-2 in the league.

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