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No. 20 Georgia Tech Looks For More Saturday Magic At No. 12 UNC
Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) - Iman Shumpert had 30 points and six assists as 20th-ranked Georgia Tech took a 73-71 win over 12th-ranked North Carolina in an ACC battle at Dean E. Smith Center.
Gani Lawal had 12 points and 12 rebounds while Brian Oliver added eight points for the Yellow Jackets (13-4, 2-2 ACC), who have won five of their last seven games.
Will Graves had 24 points and seven boards while Ed Davis donated 12 points and eight boards and Deon Thompson had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Tar Heels (12-6, 1-2), who have dropped three of their last four.
North Carolina trailed for most of the contest and was facing a five-point deficit with around seven minutes to play. The Heels scored the next six points with Graves’ three-ball giving the team a 64-63 lead with 4 1/2 minutes to play.
It remained a one-point game for the next couple of possessions, but Graves buried another three-ball for a 69-67 advantage with 1:50 to play.
Shumpert countered with 1-of-2 from the line and buried two more free throws for a 70-69 lead with 55.3 seconds to play.
Travis Wear then drove for a layup with 41.4 seconds left and, after a Georgia Tech timeout, Zachery Peacock buried a jumper for a 72-71 lead with 25.7 seconds left.
Larry Drew II saw his layup attempt bounce out, Oliver came down with the rebound and D'Andre Bell was able to kill off several seconds before being fouled with 3.4 seconds left.
He only hit one-of-two to give North Carolina a chance, but Graves’ desperation heave fell short as the clock expired.
Holding a six-point lead early in the first half, the Yellow Jackets scored 10 straight points as the Tar Heels went over five minutes without putting a point on the board with Oliver’s three-pointer giving the visitors a 24-8 lead.
A six-point and five-point run later in the first half got North Carolina back into the contest, but Shumpert put in a layup right before the buzzer and Georgia Tech held a 42-28 lead after 20 minutes of play.
The Tar Heels used a 13-2 run to cut their deficit to 52-44 just over five minutes into the second half, but the Yellow Jackets answered with eight straight points and had a 60-44 advantage on a Derrick Favors slam.
North Carolina battled back again and made it a four-point contest as Deon Thompson hit a free throw with 6 1/2 minutes left in the game for a 63-59 game.
Georgia Tech hosts Clemson on Tuesday...North Carolina hosts Wake Forest on Wednesday...Despite the loss, North Carolina owns a 60-21 lead in the series.
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