North Carolina, which started the game sluggish, scored the last eight points of the first half and carried that dominance into the second half to win 80-59 at Louisville. (1/14)

Armando Bacot, who wore a boot on the plane to the game, was able to start and he made the most of it, leading five Tar Heels in double figures with 14 points and 16 rebounds.

“Armando had a double-double by halftime on one ankle,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “The most important thing is is health and well-being. He didn’t practice Thursday or Friday but he told me at the hotel before the game that his ankle was feeling much better.”

D’Marco Dunn came off the bench to score a career-high 14 including a steal and dunk with 11 minutes to play, which gave the Tar Heels their biggest lead at the time, 63-44.

Puff Johnson, who got a start in place of Pete Nance who’s still out with a bad back, scored 12, including two on a pass from Bacot, which gave Carolina the biggest lead of the game, 73-50 with 6:53 to go.

R.J. Davis, who fought foul trouble, finished the game with 12 points including a long three at the end of the first half, which gave Carolina a 37-26 advantage at the break.

The fifth Tar Heel in double figures was Caleb Love with 10 points but his slump continued as he hit only four of 13 baskets and turned the ball over four times. Love also failed to hit a three pointer to break his record streak of 45 games with a three.

Carolina survived a 9-0 Louisville run in the first half, which helped the Cardinals to an eight-point lead. “It seemed that we were lackadaisical at the beginning, not locking in defensively,” Dunn said. “My role was to bring energy off the bench. Energy is infectious.”

After seven straight points by Bacot in just over a minute, UNC took a 22-19 lead and never trailed again.

Early in the second half, Johnson lofted in a pair of threes – one from the left corner and one from the right sideline – over the span of a minute to help Carolina open up the game at 49-33 and prompting a Louisville timeout.

The Tar Heels were only seven of 24 from beyond the arc but they held the Cardinals to a mere one of 14 from three. Even more impressively, the Heels converted 23 points on 14 Louisville turnovers.

The rebuilding Louisville, now 2-16 overall and 0-7 in the ACC, was led by El Ellis’ 22 points.

Carolina, now 12-6 overall and 4-3 in the conference, hosts Boston College Tuesday night.

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