#7 Tar Heels Defeat Syracuse

Saturday, January 13

Chapel Hill, NC

12 PM

Syracuse University

11-5,2-3ACC

103

North Carolina

13-3,5-0ACC

Syracuse

North Carolina

103

1/13/2024 2:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights Adrian Autry Press Conference Chris Bell Interview Maliq Brown Interview

Host and seventh-ranked North Carolina (13-3, 5-0) grabbed the lead for good three minutes into the contest went on to beat Syracuse (11-5, 2-3), 103-67.

Sophomore guard Judah Mintz led the Orange offense with 21 points, scoring seven-of-nine from the foul line. Mintz has produced 20-or-more points in eight-of-16 games this season. Tar Heel guard RJ Davis, the ACC's top scorer, tallied a game-leading 22 points for North Carolina.

Sophomore swingman Quadir Copeland and forward Chris Bell, another sophomore, logged 16 and 13 points, respectively.

WHEN THE GAME WAS DECIDED
After a Bell 3-pointer gave the Orange a 3-2 advantage at 18:10 of the first half, the Tar Heels answered with a 17-4 run that put the hosts ahead, 19-7. Six different players contributed to the game takeover, with graduate forward Armando Bacot leading the way with back-to-back baskets. North Carolina remained in charge for the rest of the contest.

TAR HEELS RUN IN FRONT
UNC strung together multiple runs during the period, including stretches of 7-0, 8-0 and 9-0. The Tar Heels increased their lead to 45-18 after nine consecutive points, featuring five from Davis. Bell's five points and four from Mintz helped the Orange produced nine unanswered points in the final minutes of the period to cut into the deficit to 45-27. The teams went into intermission with UNC in front, 52-30.

The Tar Heels scored 28 of their 52 points from the paint in the beginning period. North Carolina out-rebounded the Orange 24-17 in the first half, and its defense forced 10 turnovers.

UNC KEEPS THE PRESSURE ON
The initial 1:44 of the second featured a 9-2 Syracuse rally keyed by four points from Mintz and another 3-pointer from Bell. The Orange had narrowed the gap to 15, 54-39, only to have North Carolina answer by scoring 21 of the next 25 points.

Copeland scored 13 of his 16 total points in the second half, going five-of-eight from the field and two-of-two from the line.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

North Carolina finished with a commanding 53-30 advantage in rebounding.
The Tar Heels produced 22 second-chance points.
The final points-in-the paint tally for North Carolina was 58.
Mintz went seven-of-nine from the charity stripe. He came into the game ranked ninth in free throws and 10th in free-throw attempts among Division I performers.
Sophomore center Maliq Brown collected a team-high eight rebounds. He has seven-or-more rebounds in the last five games.
Bell scored in double digits for the second straight outing. He was 3-of-5 from the field, including 3-of-3 on 3-point tries, and made all four of his free throws.
Sophomore center Peter Carey made his fifth appearance this season, logging two points, two blocks and one rebound.
Graduate center Armando Bacot achieved his eighth double-double this season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
North Carolina increased its record to 7-0 against Syracuse in the Dean Smith Center.

UP NEXT
Syracuse stays on the road for its second matchup against Pittsburgh on January 16 inside the Petersen Events Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN2.

TICKETS
Syracuse men's basketball tickets are available online (cuse.com/tickets), by phone (1-888-DOMETIX), and at the Dome Box Office (Gate B).

For complete coverage of Syracuse men's basketball, follow the team on Twitter (@Cuse_MBB) and Instagram (@cuse_mbb).