North Carolina secured a thrilling 67-66 victory over Pittsburgh on Saturday in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels, now 14-10 overall and 7-5 in ACC play, picked up a crucial win to boost their NCAA Tournament hopes after a recent rough stretch. The game was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team leading by more than three points over the final four minutes.
RJ Davis led UNC with 18 points, including the go-ahead jumper with under a minute remaining. “Having R.J. on the floor, the four years I’ve been head coach, I’ve rarely taken him out because I just feel so confident as a coach having him out there,” said UNC head coach Hubert Davis. “Not just being able to score, but to make the right play defensively.”
Seth Trimble added 15 points and a game-high 7 rebounds for the Tar Heels.
Ven-Allen Lubin chipped in a career-high 17 points, while freshman Drake Powell had 10 points and a team-high 3 steals. Despite missing key free throws down the stretch, North Carolina’s defense came up big to secure the win.
unc ekes out victory over pitt
Powell deflected a pass on Pitt’s penultimate possession, and the Tar Heels got the necessary stops in the final seconds. “I hope they have a clear picture of what the little things can do that make big things happen,” Coach Davis said of his team’s defensive effort. “We missed some one-on-one free throws down the end.
But again, all we needed was one stop.”
The Tar Heels opened the game strong, leading by as many as 11 in the first half. However, Pitt closed the gap to 35-32 by halftime. The second half saw 12 lead changes as the teams battled back and forth.
With the win, North Carolina improves to 6-4 in games decided by one possession this season. The Tar Heels will look to build on this victory as they visit Clemson on Monday in another critical ACC matchup.