North Carolina survived Florida State’s top three-point shooting game of the season and used pressure defense to rally from 14 points down in the second half to defeat the Seminoles 78-70 in Chapel Hill. (12/2)

Still down eight midway through the second half, the Tar Heels went on an energy-infused 22-0 run. To start the run, Armando Bacot scored inside and got fired up by a hard foul that knocked his hair down. That old-fashioned three-point play was followed by an RJ Davis three from the the left wing.

Then Davis found a streaking Elliott Cadeau for a layup to tie it at 56-all with about eight minutes to go. Cadeau followed that up with a fastbreak bucket off a smooth crossover dribble and Carolina never trailed again.

“I felt like our energy wasn’t there in the first half and coming out in the second half,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “Then we started to press and that started to get us alive. That energy allowed us to come back…

“We created turnovers that allowed us to attack the basket and convert. And it sped them up. They were out of their offense. They took quick shots and we rebounded and got out in transition.”

There were seven lead changes and three ties in the first half but the Seminoles went on an 8-0 run at the end of the half to go up 35-29. The Heels failed to score over the last 3:18. FSU hit seven of 14 threes in the half. The Seminoles had been averaging seven threes a game.

Carolina started the second half like it ended the first half as Florida State extended the lead to 45-31 with a 10-2 run.

That’s when Carolina employed the full-court press that changed the trajectory of the game and led to the 22-0 run that ended with a 14-point lead for the Heels at 70-56.

A 9-1 FSU run made the final score respectable but the Heels ended any further drama when Davis drained a long three and hit four straight free throws.

Davis, who hit all eight of his free throw shots, finished with a game-high 27 points to go along with five assists. Bacot had another double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Harrison Ingram was the only other Tar Heel in double figures with 11 points.

Jamir Watkins led Florida State, now 4-3 and 0-1 in the ACC, with 17 points and eight rebounds.

The Tar Heels, now 7-1, play UConn Tuesday at 9 p.m. in the Jimmy V Classic in New York’s Madison Square Garden.

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