Rob Dillingham helps No. 14 Kentucky top No. 9 North Carolina

Field Level Media|published: Sat 16th December, 20:41 2023

Dec 16, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard D.J. Wagner (21) attempts layup shot against North Carolina Tar Heels forward Armando Bacot (5) and North Carolina Tar Heels forward Zayden High (1) during the first half at State Farm Arena. credits: Jordan Godfree-USA TODAY Sports

Rob Dillingham scored 17 points off the bench and No. 14 Kentucky led almost the entire game but had a tussle down the stretch to defeat No. 9 North Carolina 87-83 on Saturday at Atlanta.

D.J. Wagner had 14 points, Aaron Bradshaw notched 12 points and Reed Sheppard posted 11 points for the Wildcats (8-2), who shot just 41.7 percent from the field.

RJ Davis poured in 27 points and Cormac Ryan tallied 20 points for North Carolina (7-3). Harrison Ingram added 10 points.

There were riveting stretches as the teams played a tight final few minutes, though a North Carolina turnover on a miscommunication while trailing 86-83 in the last 10 seconds doused some potential drama.

Davis hit his second 3-pointer in the game's last three minutes to draw the Tar Heels within 81-80. Dillingham made a difficult shot at the other end.

Then with 1:10 left, Davis made a free throw, tying him for the school record with 41 in a row before he missed the second attempt. Kentucky's Bradshaw missed a foul shot but the Tar Heels fumbled the ball out of bounds.

Bradshaw, a freshman center, sank both ends of a 1-and-1 free-throw opportunity to push Kentucky's margin to 85-81 with 47 seconds left.

Ingram connected on two free throws for the Tar Heels. Then Dillingham went 1-for-2 at the free-throw line with 11.9 seconds to go.

North Carolina took its only lead of the game at 72-71 on two Bacot free throws with 5:15 remaining. Kentucky answered with the next six points in a 67-second span.

The Wildcats held a 12-point lead with 15-plus minutes to play before the Tar Heels pieced together a comeback despite the impact of Kentucky's 18 offensive rebounds.

Kentucky led 40-38 at halftime despite going more than four minutes without a field goal to end the half. It was 40-30 with 2:45 to play.

Ryan's 12 points were a boost to the Tar Heels, who committed 11 first-half turnovers. They were meeting a Top 15 team for the second game in a row after a loss to Connecticut more than a week earlier.

Kentucky was up 20-10 early in the second game of a neutral-site doubleheader that featured Ohio State's 67-60 victory vs. UCLA in the opener.

—Field Level Media