R.J. Davis scored 18 points, Ven-Allen Lubin had a season-high 17, and the Tar Heels escaped with a 67-66 Atlantic Coast Conference win as Pitt missed a midrange shot at the buzzer in Chapel Hill, N.C.
It was the 10th game decided by three points or fewer for the Tar Heels (14-10, 7-5 ACC), who won for the sixth time in those contests. Only UT Martin has as many one-possession games as North Carolina.
With just over a minute to play and Pitt leading 66-65, UNC’s Drake Powell tipped a pass that fell into the hands of Davis. Out of a Tar Heel timeout, Davis sank a fallaway jumper with 51.2 seconds to play to push the Heels in front by a point.
On the ensuing possession, Jaland Lowe missed two close looks for Pitt before North Carolina grabbed the rebound. The Panthers still had a chance to win after the Heels missed two free throws. But Ishmael Leggett came up short on a buzzer-beating floater.
The Tar Heels minimized giveaways, totaling just six turnovers that resulted in a mere six points for Pitt after UNC committed 28 turnovers for 41 points over the previous two games.
Seth Trimble finished with 15 points for UNC. Cameron Corhen paced Pitt (14-9, 5-7) with 17 points, while Lowe finished with 15 as the Panthers lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Lowe hit Pitt’s first shot of the game, a 3-pointer, but the Panthers immediately cooled off. As the visitors hit a scoreless stretch lasting over four minutes, UNC strung together a 12-0 run, including nine straight by Lubin, to take control.
The Tar Heels made nine of their first 10 shots as they led 22-14. But they, too, went cold and missed 14 of their next 19 attempts, including nine of their final 10. That allowed Pitt to rally and head into the half trailing just 35-32.
The Panthers grabbed their first lead since that early Lowe jumper as Zack Austin buried a 3-pointer to push Pitt ahead 39-37. The Tar Heels, though, responded with four straight makes, including a Davis triple, to grab a 47-41 advantage.
Once again, UNC cooled, missing nine of 10 shots during one stretch as Pitt grabbed a 55-53 lead with just over eight minutes to play.
Both sides went back and forth the rest of the way, until Powell’s steal and Davis’ jumper with under a minute to play put the Tar Heels on top the rest of the way.
–Field Level Media
