UNC’s early big lead holds strong after a late rally from the Orange
The #14 ranked North Carolina Tar Heels improved to 18-4 (6-3 ACC) on their home court in Chapel Hill on Monday night following an 87-77 win over the now 13-10 (4-6 ACC) Syracuse Orange.
The Tar Heels began to pull away in the final minutes of the first half, going into the break up 46-32. They carried that momentum into the second half, leading by as much as 32 points with 9:56 to go. The Heels’ offense was clicking behind Caleb Wilson, who scored 20+ points for the 4th game in a row, ending his night with 22 along with 9 rebounds.
Syracuse went on a strong run in the final minutes of play led by Donnie Freeman, who finished the game with 23 points in 35 minutes of action. The Syracuse team would also score 23 points in the final 5 minutes of play and even cut the deficit to just 6 with 42 seconds remaining, but it ultimately was too much to overcome.
Now for the Orange, they look to bounce back against a tough test on Saturday 2/7 as they travel to Virginia to take on the #18 ranked Cavaliers at 12:00 on ESPN.
Meanwhile for the streaking Tar Heels, they look to keep their momentum rolling heading into a marquee matchup with #4 Duke this Saturday from Cameron Indoor Stadium.
(Photo Credit: University of North Carolina Athletics)
