No. 20 North Carolina holds off Georgia Tech in ACC opener

Field Level Media|published: Sat 7th December, 16:57 2024

NCAA Basketball: Georgia Tech at North Carolina

Dec 7, 2024; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets forward Baye Ndongo (11) dribbles with the ball guarded by North Carolina Tar Heels forward Jalen Washington (13) during the first half of the game at Dean E. Smith Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Seth Trimble scored a team-high 19 points, helping lead No. 20 North Carolina to a 68-65 win over visiting Georgia Tech in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Saturday.

RJ Davis added 16 points, while Ian Jackson chipped in 15 off the bench for the Tar Heels (5-4, 1-0 ACC), who snapped a three-game losing streak. North Carolina shot just 39 percent from the field and 20.8 percent (5 of 24) on 3-pointers, while Georgia Tech shot 31.2 percent from the field and just 29.6 percent (8 of 27) from distance.

Lance Terry led the Yellow Jackets (4-5, 0-1) with 22 points, while Baye Ndongo had 19 points and 12 rebounds. Naithan George had 12 points for Georgia Tech, which lost its second straight.

Leading by one halftime, North Carolina pushed its advantage to 36-31 on Jackson's layup with 15:16 left in the second half. Ven Allen-Lubin's dunk put the Tar Heels ahead by five again a minute later, but Terry and George hit back-to-back triples to give Georgia Tech a 39-38 lead with 12:29 remaining.

After Terry's fifth 3-pointer put the Yellow Jackets ahead 47-44 with 9:39 left, Trimble answered with a trey of his own with 8:49 remaining.

North Carolina then held Georgia Tech without a made field goal until Ndongo's dunk with 3:31 remaining -- a 6:08 drought -- which cut the Yellow Jackets' deficit to 59-57.

Elliot Cadeau then hit his first 3-pointer after an 0-for-5 start, followed by Jackson's pair of free throws to extend North Carolina's lead to 64-57 with 1:11 left. Ndongo's hook shot and a pair of Jaeden Mustaf free throws pulled Georgia Tech within three with 23 seconds left.

After Trimble and Terry traded free throws, Jackson iced the game with a pair of foul shots with 6.1 seconds left.

Georgia Tech built an early eight-point lead, as Duncan Powell's layup and Terry's 3-pointer extended the Yellow Jackets' lead to 14-6 with 12:02 left.

Trailing 16-8, North Carolina pulled even with eight straight points, capped with Trimble's dunk at the 7:52 mark, prompting a Georgia Tech timeout.

The run extended to 13-0 on Davis' 3-pointer, before Terry's mid-range jumper snapped a 5:19 scoreless run for the Yellow Jackets.

Davis' layup with 2:00 left was answered by Mustaf's layup and George's 3-pointer, trimming Georgia Tech's halftime-deficit to 31-30.

--Field Level Media

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