UNC basketball take over second half to defeat NC State

It wasn't always pretty for the UNC basketball program in Raleigh on Wednesday night, but they ended up with a gritty 13-point win against their bitter rival.

North Carolina went into PNC Arena and handed the NC State Wolfpack their first ACC loss of the season and improved to 4-0 in conference for the first time since the 2015-2016 season.

Defense was the main factor in their two previous road wins to start conference play, and it was more of the same on Wednesday night. The Tar Heels held the Wolfpack to just 54 points which is tied for their second-lowest point total of the season. Both teams struggled to shoot the ball throughout the game, but the North Carolina held NC State to 26% shooting from the field and 9% from three.

Wolfpack forward D.J. Burns Jr. was able to frustrate Armando Bacot early and force him into foul trouble, but the UNC basketball program rallied around him and shut down the rest of NC State's weapons. The leading scorer for the Wolfpack was Casey Morsell who scored 12 points. Burns Jr. was held to four points in the rest of the game after starting with seven early on 3-4 shooting.

It was another off-scoring night for Harrison Ingram, who scored only nine points on 4-10 shooting. Ingram made his mark on the glass and the defensive end as he pulled in 19 rebounds. His previous season-high was 15 against Pitt on January 2.

R.J. Davis overcame early struggles and scored a team-high 16 points in the game. Davis shot an impressive 40% from the three-point line, including a dagger at the end right in front of Burns Jr.

Freshman guard Elliot Cadeau scored 11 points which are his third-most points scored in a game this season. Cadeau impacted the game by more than just scoring by playing tight defense and starting many fast breaks for the Tar Heels. The UNC basketball program hasn't seen a point guard with as much control and speed with the basketball since the Kendall Marshall days. Cadeau showed off his elite facilitating by having six assists in the game, the most by a North Carolina player in the game.

Seth Trimble provided a spark off the bench yet again for his team. He only scored six points but was a key contributor on the defensive end and wasn't afraid to attack the glass for rebounds. Cormac Ryan has impressed the most during the Tar Heels' defensive resurgence by locking down guards across the conference. Ryan is still waiting for his three-point shot to fall, but he doesn't let that affect his defense at all.

The UNC basketball program will get a much-deserved home game against the Syracuse Orange on Saturday afternoon.

Follow us @KeepingItHeel on X (formerly Twitter) and like our fan page on Facebook for continued coverage of UNC basketball news, views, and updates.