Louisville ended the game on a 13-1 run to close out Carolina and send the Tar Heels to a 83-70 loss on Wednesday evening.

UNC trailed by as many as 11 points early in the second half at 51-40, but briefly tied the game at 61-61 on a three-pointer from Ian Jackson with 8:37 remaining. Once again starting in place of an injured Seth Trimble, Jackson finished as Carolina’s leading scorer with 23 points. It’s the freshman’s third consecutive game scoring at least 20 points.

The score stood at 70-69 in favor of the Cardinals with five minutes to go, but a series of Tar Heel blunders prevented Carolina from taking its first lead of the second half. Included in the chaotic final minutes was a shot-clock violation by UNC and a foul on a Cardinal three-point shooter. After the three made free throws, the Louisville lead increased to 73-69. Carolina would not score another point until Jackson made a free throw in the final seconds. The Cardinals, on the other hand, pulled away thanks to Reyne Smith’s fourth made three of the night, a dunk from forward James Scott and free throws from guard Chucky Hepburn, who finished with a game-high 26 points. UNC didn’t make a shot for the final 5:09 of game time.

The loss snaps a five-game winning streak for the Tar Heels against Louisville. R.J. Davis finished with just 12 points and made only one three. Drake Powell scored 14 points but fouled out late in the game. Elliot Cadeau and Cade Tyson also fouled out, and the Tar Heels were whistled for 29 as a team.

Carolina falls to 8-6 overall and 1-1 in ACC play with the loss. The Tar Heels will be back in action when it visits Notre Dame on Saturday at 12 p.m.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet

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