Despite not scoring for the first 6:20 of the game, the UNC men’s basketball team was able to earn a hard-fought 70-57 win at Pittsburgh on Tuesday night. The victory snaps a three-game losing streak to the Panthers, and is Hubert Davis’ first against them as head coach of the Tar Heels. It’s also the team’s first true road win of the season.

Armando Bacot finished as UNC’s leading scorer with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. In the process, Bacot not only snapped R.J. Davis’ streak of eight games as UNC’s leading scorer, but also became the seventh Tar Heel in history to score 2,000 career points.

Davis made his own history, though. By knocking down a trio of three-pointers in a 15-point performance, Davis upped his career total to 199 made threes, passing Hubert Davis for eighth place on the all-time Carolina leaderboard. Next up on the ladder is former teammate Caleb Love, who finished his UNC career with 200 makes.

It didn’t seem like any records of a positive variety would be set when Carolina missed its first 10 shots from the floor. Fortunately for the Tar Heels, Pittsburgh was mired in its own shooting woes, starting the night just 6-27 from the floor. The Panthers led by as many as seven points in the first half, but fell behind late in the period and never led again.

Bench minutes from reserve guard Seth Trimble proved critical in the swing, as Trimble scored nine of his 10 points in the first half to keep Carolina afloat. Trimble’s contributions helped the Tar Heels win the bench points battle, 18-12. Cormac Ryan added 10 points to become the fourth Tar Heel in double figures on the night.

Carolina dominated on the glass after being outrebounded in its previous three games against power-conference foes. The Tar Heels grabbed 51 rebounds – its most since the season opener – compared to only 41 for Pittsburgh. Fifteen of those rebounds came from Harrison Ingram, who set a new career high in that metric. UNC’s mastery of the boards translated to a 15-1 advantage in second-chance points.

Pittsburgh, which came into the night averaging 44.7 percent shooting from the floor, finished the game at just 21-68 (30.9 percent) and 9-34 (26.5 percent) in the second half. Blake Hinson, the Panthers’ leading scorer at 19.5 points per game, finished with 11 on 4-16 shooting. Three Panthers, two of whom played at least 12 minutes, finished scoreless.

The Tar Heels are now 10-3 overall and 2-0 in ACC play. The team’s next two games will also come on the road, with a visit to No. 16 Clemson looming on Saturday. Tip-off at Littlejohn Coliseum is scheduled for noon.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Matt Freed

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