Chapel Hill, N.C. – Georgia Tech forced 18 turnovers and limited North Carolina to 39% shooting from the floor, but the Yellow Jackets were unable to make enough shots of their own Saturday and fell to the No. 20 Tar Heels, 68-65, in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams at the Dean E. Smith Center.
Lance Terry scored a game-high 22 points on the strength of five three-point field goals for the Yellow Jackets (4-5, 0-1 ACC), while Baye Ndongo scored 19 points with 12 rebounds for his third double-double this season, and Naithan George also reached double digits with 12 points, including a pair of threes.
Tech controlled the pace early and built a 16-8 lead, but the Tar Heels (5-4, 1-0 ACC) took advantage of turnovers and a cold-shooting spell to go on a 13-0 run and take a 21-16 lead. The Jackets were able to trim their deficit to 31-30 by the half.
The teams played nearly even in the second half as well, with Tech forging five ties before edging out front 52-49 with 7:45 left in the game after George and Terry each made a pair of free throws. Ndongo made a pair of free throws to give the Jackets their last lead at 54-53 at the 6:21 mark.
R.J. Davis hit a pair of free throws to put the Tar Heels back in front, and they built their lead to 59-55 after a dunk from Jalen Washington and a layup from Davis, and led by as many as seven in the closing minutes.
Davis led the Tar Heels with 19 points, while Seth Trimble scored 15 and Ian Jackson added 15 for the home team.
Tech returns to action Sunday when it travels to Milwaukee, Wis., to face Northwestern in the MKE Tipoff. The game will tip off at 4 p.m. EST and be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
