UNC’s RJ Davis, coming off a one of 14 performance, scored a Smith Center record-setting 42 points to lead the Tar Heels to a narrow 75-71 victory at home against Miami. (2/26)

“He put the entire team on his back,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis, who was visably upset that it took such an effort from one player to win the game. “He was unbelieveable on both ends of the floor… There are very few times I’ve seen a peformance like that whether it be here or in the NBA.”

Half of Davis’ 14 baskets were threes but he also came up with four steals and six rebounds. His 42 points were the 10th most by a Tar Heel in a game. The last player to score more was All-America legend Charlie Scott, who scored 43 in 1970.

The Hurricanes, now losers of seven games in a row, stroked 14 three pointers to hang with the Tar Heels.

Back-to-back threes from Davis gave the Heels what seemed like an insurmountable lead at 70-57 with just over four minutes to play.

But the Tar Heels went the rest of the way without scoring another field goal and they missed five straight free throws down the stretch.

Meanwhile, Miami went on an 11-0 run – which included three triples – over a two-minute period to pull within a basket at 72-70.

Davis hit three of four free throws before missing those five in a row. It took Jae’lyn Withers, who rebounded a missed free throw from Seth Trimble, to wrap up the game with a pair of free thows with less than three seconds to go for the four-point final margin.

No other Tar Heel besides Davis scored in double figures; however, Armando Davis got 12 rebounds while Harrison Ingram had 10 boards.

Miami, now 15-14 and 6-12 in the ACC, was led by Norchad Omier’s 22 points and Bensley Joseph’s career-high 21 points. The pair hit nine of Miami’s 14 threes.

The Tar Heels, who host N.C. State Saturday at 4 p.m., improve to 22-6 and 14-3 in the ACC.

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Once Cormac Ryan hit his first of six three pointers to put the Tar Heels ahead early in the game, North Carolina never trailed and held off the deliberate Virginia squad 54-44. (2/17)

It was the first time since Feb. 25 of 2012 that Carolina has won in Charlottesville.

Ryan, who led the Tar Heels with 18 points, hit five threes in the first half as UNC got up by as much as 13 points and led 26-16 at the half in the low scoring affair.

The Heels, who had a week to work on their game, did what they wanted to do – tighten the screws defensively. The Cavaliers shot just 27 percent from the floor as Carolina held them to just two of 14 from beyond the arc.

“The week off gave us a chance to work on us,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “I thought defensively we were tied together today. Our defensive effort was really good.”

That was particularly impressive considering that Armando Bacot, one of Carolina’s best defensive players and leading rebounder, sat the last 12-plus minutes of the first half in foul trouble. Bacot still managed another double-double as he finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Ryan said that the Tar Heels were locked in defensively because of a great week of practice. “We were well prepared,” he said. “We made them make tough shots and we made them take the shots we wanted them to take.”

Virginia made things tough on Carolina as well as the Tar Heels managed to shoot only 32 percent themselves, the lowest output of the season. The usual top scorer, RJ Davis, made just one of 14 shots on the day but he did hit nine of 10 free throws, including four in a row after the Wahoos pulled to within five points with 2:13 to go.

“Whatever it takes,” Coach Davis said about Carolina winning at Virginia. “I’m proud of what the guys did – to come in this environment against a good team. This was a huge win for us.”

Virginia, now 20-8 and 11-6 in the ACC, was led by James Minor’s 12 points and 10 rebounds.

The Tar Heels, now a game up in first place following Wake Forest’s victory over Duke, improves to 21-6 and 13-3 in the ACC. Carolina starts a three-game homestand Monday night against Miami.

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UNC junior centerfielder Vance Honeycutt belted a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to lead No. 15 North Carolina to a 2-1 win over No. 11 East Carolina at Boshamer Stadium on Friday. With the win, North Carolina became the eighth program in NCAA history to win 3,000 games and wrapped up its season-opening homestand 5-0. Please click here for more.

A suddenly shaky North Carolina team had lost three of its last five games but Armando Bacot and Harrison Ingram helped the Tar Heels get well at home in a 96-81 win over Virginia Tech. (2/17)

Bacot scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half and pulled down 12 rebounds. Meanwhile, Ingram scored 11 of his 12 points in the first half and he hauled in 17 rebounds. The combined 29 rebounds by the two Tar Heels were just two fewer than the entire Virginia Tech team.

“We always want to attack and get points in the paint,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said, pointing especially to Bacot and Ingram’s offensive rebounding. “A number of times lately we’ve gone away from that. We were active today.”

The Hokies managed to cut a 16-point second-half Carolina lead to just seven with under seven minutes to play at 79-72. But RJ Davis, who was cold early, came up with five straight points, including a step-back three from just in front of the UNC bench, to put the Heels back up by 12 at 84-72.

Lately, the Tar Heels had been falling apart at the end of games but this time they worked the margin back up to 16 points after a Cormac Ryan three and a Bacot dunk made it 94-78 with less than a minute to go.

Ryan hit four of seven three pointers to finish with 16 points. Davis, who didn’t get his first basket until the last five minutes of the first half, finished with 20 points and five assists.

The Tar Heels started off in a familiar position – getting behind. Carolina turned the ball over two straight times and the Hokies got on top 5-0. But the Tar Heels, behind seven points from Harrison Ingram, went on a 10-0 run to take a lead they would never relinquish.

An 8-1 run gave the Tar Heels their first double-digit lead at 29-18 following a left-handed dunk follow by Ingram, who already had a double-double by halftime, at which Carolina led 50-39.

Virginia Tech, now 14-11 and 6-8 in the ACC, had balanced scoring with six guys in double figures. One of them was UNC transfer Tyler Nickel who hit four threes on his way to 14 points.

The Tar Heels, who get a one-week rest before playing at Virginia Feb. 24, improve to 20-6 and 12-3 for first place in the ACC. It’s the 64th year that the Carolina program has won at least 20 games in a season.

For a box score and more on the game, please click here.