It was a clean sweep for the Tar Heels on the hardwood over the weekend. The women took full advantage of a pre-Christmas beach vacation, while the men finally earned that signature win they had been hoping for.

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A fourth loss wouldn’t have necessarily been devastating for the UNC men’s basketball team, but an 82-74 win was a much better outcome for head coach Roy Williams’ squad Saturday inside the United Center.

No. 24 Carolina came out on fire, knocking down shots and playing with high energy on both sides of the floor to create a quick double-digit lead on No. 12 Ohio State.

JP Tokoto gets a bucket (UNC Athletics)

JP Tokoto lays one in (UNC Athletics)

But it was the way the 8-3 Tar Heels finished, missing nearly all of their free throws down the stretch and turning the ball over with regularity, which is keeping Coach Williams from drinking too much celebratory Egg Nog.

“I’m extremely relieved. I’m not sitting up here saying I’m as happy as I could possibly be. I don’t hear the ‘Happy’ song in my ears right now. We stunk it up down the stretch, and I think we got to get better there,” Coach Williams says.

Junior point guard Marcus Paige says he’s happy with the improved play of the big men this year, but is not using that as an excuse for his dip in production this season.

“Brice [Johnson] and Kennedy [Meeks] have done a great job this year of being an inside presence. We wanted Kennedy to finish a little stronger around the basket today, but Brice was great [18 pts, 9 rbs]. I don’t need to play perfect, but I do need to play better,” Paige says.

Meanwhile in Myrtle Beach, the UNC women’s basketball team picked up a pair of convincing wins over inferior opponents to cure the sour taste of their first loss of the season.

Sophomore guard Allisha Gray continues to provide the most offensive spark for the 11-1 Tar Heels, leading the scoring charge in both contests with 17 points against Maine Friday night and 20 points versus Elon on Sunday.

Allisha Gray (UNC Athletics)

Allisha Gray (UNC Athletics)

Junior forward Xylina McDaniel went down with an apparent ankle injury late in Sunday’s game, but the full extent of her injury remains unknown.

Sunday’s 85-67 victory was not settled until the second half. After taking a mere 46-43 advantage into the locker room, the Tar Heels used a 9-0 run to open the final 20 minutes of play to seize control and cruise from there.

The Tar Heels will now get a chance to enjoy their Christmas before returning to action later this month in Chapel Hill.

The men welcome UAB to the Smith Center Saturday for a 4 p.m. tipoff. The women don’t play again until a Dec. 30 meeting with Albany in Carmichael Arena.