UNC Basketball: Tar Heels rout Yellow Jackets in Atlanta

The UNC basketball program looked sharp in a Sunday afternoon game against Georgia Tech, beating the Yellow Jackets by a final score of 79-62.

The North Carolina Tar Heels looked great in an upset win over the Michigan Wolverines in the Big 10/ACC Challenge last week, and many wondered if they’d replicate that performance in the games to come. At least for the time being, it looks like that group of Tar Heels is here to stay.

In their first Atlantic Coast Conference action of the season, the Tar Heels blew out the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta. North Carolina has struggled at that venue in recent history, so the 17-point margin of victory was a welcomed sight for the Tar Heels and their fans.

Sophomore guard R.J. Davis led all scorers with 23 points on an outstanding 8-for-11 performance from the floor and 4-for-6 from three-point range. He also knocked down all three of his free throws, while recording five rebounds and five assists in the 79-62 romp. Fellow back court star Caleb Love added 17 points for the Tar Heels, as he hit 3-of-5 from long-range to go along with six rebounds, five assists and three steals, while committing just one turnover.

Junior center Armando Bacot recorded his third double-double in four games, finishing with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Leaky Black had another solid game for the Tar Heels, though his final box score may not show it. The senior forward had five points on 2-of-2 shooting, two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one heck of a defensive effort against the nation’s top scorer, Michael Devoe. Senior reserve forward Brady Manek had 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Khalid Moore, Dallan Coleman and Devoe led Georgia Tech with 13 points each. Kyle Sturdivant added 11 points and Jordan Usher had eight. The Yellow Jackets came out of the gates hot on Sunday afternoon but cooled down quickly. They finished the game shooting 25-for-54 (46.3 percent) and 6-of-16 (37.5 percent) from three-point range. They were outrebounded by a dozen, and assisted on just eight of their 25 made buckets. The Yellow Jackets fall to 5-3 with the loss.

North Carolina finished the game with a 31-for-55 (56.4 percent) shooting mark from the floor and 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) from beyond the arc. The Tar Heels had 21 assists on 31 baskets, and committed just 14 turnovers for the game despite a flurry of them early in the first half. The Tar Heels, now 6-2 on the young season, will prepare for a matchup with Elon next Saturday night.

Check back with Keeping It Heel for complete coverage of that game, and everything on the UNC basketball program.