Carolina overcame a turnover-filled first half and a five-point halftime deficit to earn a hard-fought 75-68 win at Florida State on Saturday afternoon. It’s UNC’s second win against the Seminoles this season and moves the Tar Heels to 9-0 in ACC play. That’s the team’s best start in conference play since the 2000-01 season.

UNC raced out of the gates to take a 19-8 lead, but a slew of turnovers for the Tar Heels and made threes for the Seminoles put Florida State on the comeback trail. FSU outscored Carolina 33-17 in the final 13:29 of the half to take a 41-36 lead at halftime. The Tar Heels finished with more turnovers (12) in the first half than made shots (11). In fact, Carolina’s 12 turnovers were already more than its season average.

Florida State briefly built on its lead in the second half, going up 46-38 on a three from Darin Green, Jr. But a pair of long-distance makes from Cormac Ryan powered a 10-2 UNC run in response, tying the game at 48. Elliot Cadeau scored seven of his career-high 16 points in a span of less than two minutes midway through the half, slingshotting the Tar Heels back in front. Another Ryan three pushed the lead to 66-56, but the Seminoles would not go away quietly.

A steal and breakaway layup from Primo Spears cut the UNC lead to 70-68 with 2:36 remaining, and the score would stay that way into the final minute. Carolina was mired in a run of six straight missed shots, but finally earned breathing room on a short jumper from R.J. Davis at the 44-second mark. UNC’s lead was restored to four, and Florida State wouldn’t score again. After its turnover-riddled first half, Carolina turned the ball over only five times in the second.

Davis finished with 24 points. His two made threes extended his school-record streak of consecutive games with multiple threes made to 17. Cadeau added six assists to his 16 points, and Harrison Ingram continued to feast on the glass with a game-high 17 rebounds, more than half of Florida State’s total of 32. Carolina outrebounded the Seminoles by nine, and also earned 24 trips to the foul line compared to Florida State’s 11.

The Tar Heels are now 17-3 overall and have won 10 consecutive games, their longest winning streak since an 11-game run between the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Carolina has held its opponents to 70 points or fewer in all 10 of those games, the longest such streak since the 2006-07 season.

Up next, the Tar Heels will stay on the road for a visit to Georgia Tech on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

 

Featured image via UNC Basketball on Twitter

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