The No. 15 North Carolina men’s basketball team survived N.C. State, 81-79, Wednesday night at PNC Arena to improve to 13-4 on the season and 3-1 in the ACC.

With the loss, the Wolfpack dropped to 12-6 overall and 3-2 in league play.

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N.C. State got into foul trouble midway through the second half, and sophomore forward Beejay Anya ultimately fouled out with 6:58 to play. Senior guard Ralston Turner fouled out with just 3 ticks left in the contest.

Meanwhile, UNC took full advantage with crisp passing and sharp shooting to pull away from their rivals and establish a double-digit lead. But the Wolfpack didn’t give up, fighting their way back to within a whisker of victory.

Marcus Paige and Roy Williams continued their dominance over their rivals (Todd Melet)

Marcus Paige and Roy Williams continued their dominance over their rivals (Todd Melet)

Junior point guard Marcus Paige, not surprisingly, turned in a sharp performance at a venue he enjoys, finishing with 23 points on 7-13 shooting.

“Honestly, it’s a fun environment,” Paige says. “It’s kind of like an us-against-the-world mentality when we come in here. And that’s a fun way to play.”

UNC head coach Roy Williams was full of praise for Paige’s play following the game.

“I’d like for him to be 6-3, 220, but he’s not that,” Coach Williams says. “What he is is 165 pounds to 175 — and most of it’s heart.”

 

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But it was sophomore forward Isaiah Hicks who surprised most, tallying 12 points and only missing one shot from the field.  Hicks seemed to set the tone with his emphatic play in the paint.

Turner and junior guard Trevor Lacey led the N.C. State scoring charge with 20 and 19 points respectively. The Wolfpack also outrebounded the Tar Heels, 37-33, with scrappy effort and want-to, but it wasn’t enough to emerge victorious on this occasion.

Coach Williams continued his dominance over N.C. State, improving his career head-to-head record to 28-2 against the Wolfpack.

“I didn’t think in the first half we had the movement, the quickness,” N.C. State head coach Mark Gottfried says. “We just seemed to be going slow motion in my mind. The second half we came out and played basketball. … But we didn’t do it for 40 minutes. We did it for 20 minutes.”

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Meeks opened the scoring proceedings with a smooth jumper to get the Tar Heels on the board first in their opening possession.

Meeks slam dunk (Todd Melet)

Meeks slam dunk (Todd Melet)

Abdul-Malik Abu got the Wolfpack’s first points, but it was UNC who got off to a sharp start, spurting out to a 6-2 lead with 16:37 on the first half clock.

But Turner answered for the home team, draining the next two buckets to knot up the game at 8 points apiece.

With 11:40 to play, the Wolfpack earned their first lead of the contest, 13-12, thanks to the hot-shooting of Turner.

UNC used some of its size to draw a second foul on Turner and send the sharp-shooter to the bench briefly. Efficient passing for both teams paced the offenses, and with 7:26 before halftime, N.C. State held a slim 17-16 edge.

Hicks finished the first half with a flourish, converting on every shot he took. The Tar Heels, who made nine of their last 11 attempts from the field, trotted into the locker room with a 32-26 lead.

Both squads came out of halftime on fire, knocking down shots inside and outside with ease, picking apart the opposing defenses.

Promising N.C. State sophomore Kyle Washington made his presence felt and Turner did his part to get the crowd into it early in the final 20 minutes of play. With 15:07 to play, the Tar Heels maintained a 45-38 advantage.

JP Tokoto negotiates the defense of Beejay Anya (Todd Melet)

JP Tokoto negotiates the defense of Beejay Anya (Todd Melet)

Paige continued to work his way into space, converting on crucial long-range jumpers to stave off the Wolfpack surge and keep UNC ahead 52-48 with 11:41 remaining.

In a bad development for N.C. State, Turner picked up his fourth foul at the 10:05 mark in the second half, promptly taking a seat on the bench.

Back-to-back three-point plays from Justin Jackson and J.P Tokoto helped reestablish a solid lead for the Tar Heels at 62-52.

And with 4:35 to play, Paige nailed down a wide open three to extend UNC’s lead to 71-60 and ultimately seal the road win, despite a furious Wolfpack rally that had N.C. State within three points with under a minute to play. PNC Arena was rocking right to the finish.

Next up for the Tar Heels is a Sunday evening meeting with lowly Virginia Tech for a 6:30 p.m. tip in the Smith Center.

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