No. 15 UNC escapes with win over NC State
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Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Marcus Paige scored 23 points and No. 15 North Carolina escaped Duke's fate by beating North Carolina State 81-79 on Wednesday night.
Paige made all five of his 3-pointers, the last one giving the Tar Heels a 71-60 lead with 4 1/2 minutes left, but they had to hang on down the stretch.
The Wolfpack trimmed the deficit to one point and nearly tied the score at the buzzer after Abdul-Malik Abu missed a foul shot high off the rim on purpose, but Cody Martin's tip-in attempt didn't fall.
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Kennedy Meeks added 15 points and 10 rebounds and Isaiah Hicks scored 12 for the Tar Heels (13-4, 3-1 ACC), who played their third consecutive close game.
They rallied from 13 down in the second half for a 72-71 win over then-No. 5 Louisville in Chapel Hill on Saturday, which followed a one-point loss to nationally ranked Notre Dame earlier in the week.
Ralston Turner had 20 points to lead NC State (12-6, 3-2) and Trevor Lacey scored 19 in the Wolfpack's third straight game against a ranked opponent.
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They upset then-No. 2 Duke 87-75 on Sunday after losing to current No. 2 Virginia last Wednesday.
North Carolina gave up 12 offensive rebounds to the Wolfpack in the first half but shot better than 58 percent from the field for a 32-26 lead at the break.
The lead changed hands eight times before the Tar Heels ended the half on a 7-1 run for their six-point lead.
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They pushed it to double digits in the second half with a 10-0 run highlighted by Meeks' dunk. Later, Turner led a 9-1 Wolfpack burst, scoring seven of the points to get them within three with two minutes remaining.
North Carolina's lead was never higher than five the rest of the way. Lacey's 3-pointer cut it to 76-74 with 16 seconds left and the teams traded foul shots the rest of the way until Abu and Martin's failed attempt with 0.2 seconds on the clock.
Game Notes
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North Carolina leads the all-time series 151-76, including four consecutive wins ... Tar Heels coach Roy Williams improved to 28-2 against NC State in his career, including 23-2 at North Carolina ... North Carolina hosts Virginia Tech on Sunday ... NC State visits Florida State on Saturday.