CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Harrison Barnes scored eight of his 12 points in the final 3½ minutes to help North Carolina rally from a 16-point deficit to beat Virginia Tech 64-61 on Thursday night.
John Henson scored 12 of his 17 points after halftime to help the Tar Heels (12-4) start 2-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference for the first time in three years. North Carolina got off to a horrendous start before slowing Malcolm Delaney to get back in the game and earn its 300th victory in the Smith Center after a tense finish.
Delaney finished with 28 points and hit seven 3-pointers for the Hokies (10-5, 1-2), but he missed a long jumper over Kendall Marshall with his team trailing by a point in the final seconds. Marshall made two free throws with 2.8 seconds left to push the lead to 64-61, then Dexter Strickland stole Erick Green's desperation inbound pass to halfcourt as time expired.
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