National Basketball Association
North Carolina 75, Pittsburgh 71
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 15, 2014
Where: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Officials:
# Tim Kelly, # Karl Hess, # Raymond Styons
Attendance:
20341
By SportsDirect Inc.
North Carolina 75, No. 23 Pittsburgh 71: James Michael McAdoo led all players with 24 points and 12 rebounds as the host Tar Heels won their sixth straight game.
Marcus Paige connected on 5-of-6 3-pointers en route to 18 points for North Carolina (17-7, 7-4 ACC), which was playing its first game in a week after Wednesday's showdown with Duke was postponed due to a winter storm. Brice Johnson chipped in 13 points, seven rebounds and five blocks to lead the Tar Heels' reserves.
Pittsburgh (20-6, 8-5) was hoping to get back into the win column after losing to No. 1 Syracuse on Wednesday on a 35-footer at the buzzer, but the Panthers committed 14 turnovers in losing for the fourth time in six games. Lamar Patterson scored 16 points for Pitt, but he and fellow senior Talib Zanna combined to shoot 7-of-26 from the field, while Jamel Artis (13 points) and James Robinson (10) also scored in double figures.
The Panthers led for most of the first half until Paige's four-point play with 1:52 left gave North Carolina the lead for good. The Panthers got within one possession several times in the second half - including 63-61 - but McAdoo scored on each of the Tar Heels' next two possessions to push the lead back to 67-62 with about four minutes left.
McAdoo's layup with 1:17 to play created some breathing room for North Carolina, but Patterson had a three-point play with 46 seconds left and Artis made a foul shot with 23 seconds to go but missed the second one, setting off a wild final sequence in which Pitt missed three more shots but got the offensive rebound twice. However, Robinson missed a layup, Patterson misfired on the potential tying 3-pointer and Zanna missed a follow-up to seal the Panthers' fate.
GAME NOTEBOOK: McAdoo scored 12 first-half points to lead all players as the Tar Heels went into the locker room ahead 35-31. ... Nine different players made a field goal for Pittsburgh, which did not shoot particularly well from the field (40.6 percent), 3-point range (4-of-15) or the foul line (15-of-23). ... McAdoo shot only 2-of-7 from the foul line but still finished with his fifth double-double of the season.
Top Game Performances
Pittsburgh |
|
North Carolina |
Lamar Patterson 16 |
Scoring |
James Michael McAdoo 24 |
Josh Newkirk 2 |
Assists |
Marcus Paige 4 |
Talib Zanna 8 |
Rebounds |
James Michael McAdoo 12 |
Jamel Artis 5 |
Free Throws Made |
Brice Johnson 7 |
Lamar Patterson 4 |
Steals |
Marcus Paige 4 |
Talib Zanna 2 |
Blocks |
Brice Johnson 5 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
Pittsburgh
|
71 |
40.6 |
4-15 |
15-23 |
10 |
34 |
4 |
11 |
14 |
North Carolina
|
75 |
44.3 |
6-14 |
15-25 |
14 |
37 |
9 |
7 |
13 |