A 15-point outburst from Cormac Ryan in the first half helped Carolina exorcise its Charlottesville demons, as the Tar Heels gutted out a 54-44 win at Virginia on Saturday afternoon. It’s UNC’s first win at Virginia since 2012, where Carolina had lost eight straight games — its longest road losing streak against any opponent in program history.

All of Ryan’s 15 points came from beyond the three-point line, and he became the first Tar Heel to make five threes in a single half since Caleb Love did so against UCLA in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Carolina needed Ryan’s production, as he accounted for more than half of the team’s 26 first-half points. No other Tar Heel scored more than four, Armando Bacot scored just two while saddled with early foul trouble and R.J. Davis was held scoreless. It was UNC’s lowest-scoring half of the season.

Fortunately for Carolina, Virginia was even more dry on offense through the first 20 minutes. The Cavaliers slogged through a 5-30 (16.7 percent) shooting performance, which included a rancid 1-23 stretch. Virginia didn’t make a single three in the half.

Carolina led by as many as 13 points in the first half and took a 26-16 lead into the locker room. Virginia looked much more threatening in the second half, cutting the lead down to six early, but another three from Ryan and seven early points from Davis kept the Tar Heels in front. The Cavaliers hung around and got as close as 47-42 with 2:12 remaining, but would only make one more shot for the rest of the game. Free throws from Harrison Ingram and Davis sealed the win.

Ryan finished as the team leader with 18 points on 6-11 shooting from long distance. Armando Bacot logged his 82nd career double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds (five offensive), while Davis added 12. Nine of Davis’ points came at the free throw line, and he saw his school-record streak of 23 consecutive games with multiple made threes snapped. Davis shot 1-8 on his three-point attempts.

Despite a better second half, Virginia still finished the game just 16-58 (27.6 percent) from the floor and 2-14 (14.3 percent) on threes. The Cavaliers shot 5-17 on layups and led for just 13 seconds in the game, when the score was 2-0.

Carolina’s win moves the team to 21-6 overall. Because of an earlier Duke loss at Wake Forest, the Tar Heels are once again in sole possession of first place in the ACC standings at 13-3. The Blue Devils sit in second place at 12-4, Virginia in third at 11-6 and Wake Forest in fourth at 10-6.

The Tar Heels will be back in action on Monday night when they host Miami at the Smith Center. UNC won the first meeting with the Hurricanes, 75-72, on February 10.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Carlson

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