BOSTON –
Caleb Love hit his season high of 22 points for the fifth time and three other tar heels scored 17 or more as North Carolina rolled past Boston College at 91:65 on Saturday.
Love was 7-of-11 with four 3-pointers. Armando Bacot added 18 points with 11 rebounds for his ninth Atlantic Coast Conference double-double. RJ Davis, who took all five of his shots, and Brady Manek each scored 17 points. The tar heels (10-3, 2-0) shot 52.5%, of which 48% from 3-point range, making 11 out of 23 from the bow.
Jaeden Zackery scored 13 points and Makai Ashton-Langford 12 for the Eagles (6: 6, 1: 1).
The Eagles hadn’t played since December 13th as final exams and COVID issues with ACC games against Wake Forest and Florida State were postponed and that meeting was postponed for a day. The disruption was evident as the Eagles shot only 16.7% in the first half and ended up at 31%, making only 8 out of 28 3-point attempts.
North Carolina was in good shape after a slow start, however. UNC missed their first seven shots but then went 9 of 13 and led 27-11 on consecutive 3s from Manek. The tar heels shot 47% at halftime and had four players in the double digits at break, leading 49-20.
A 15-3 run in the second half – with Love hitting three 3-pointers, resulted in a 35-point lead of 5 1/2 minutes in the second half.
UNC starter Dawson Garcia left the game two minutes after hitting his head on the floor and did not return.
The Tar Heels played their first game since December 21st. A game against Virginia Tech on Wednesday was postponed due to COVID issues with the Hokies. North Carolina plays at Notre Dame on Wednesday. The Eagles are in Pittsburgh on Saturday.
The UNC has won the last seven sessions in Boston and the last 13 out of a total of 14.
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