Luka Bogavac drained three 3-pointers in the final seven minutes and finished with a career-high 20 points to propel No. 17 North Carolina to a 67-63 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over Clemson on Tuesday in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Henri Veesaar contributed 13 points as the Tar Heels (24-6, 12-5 ACC) finished 18-0 at Dean E. Smith Center, which is a single-season program record for wins at home.
Jarin Stevenson added nine points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina, which won for the fifth time in its last six games without its top scorer and rebounder Caleb Wilson.
Bogavac made 6 of 10 shots from beyond the arc, rescuing the cold-shooting Tar Heels, who made just 37.9% of their attempts from the floor.
Derek Dixon (nine points) broke out of a shooting slump to hit 3 of 4 attempts from long range, including a triple with 46 seconds left that helped the Tar Heels sew it up.
The win got North Carolina a step closer to gaining a double bye in the ACC tournament next week in Charlotte. The teams entered Tuesday’s game tied for fourth place in the league. Double byes are awarded to teams that finish in the top four.
RJ Godfrey scored a career-high 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds to pace Clemson (21-9, 11-6), which lost for the fifth time in its last six games.
Carter Welling added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Tigers, who were gunning for their first-ever three-game winning streak in the series which the Tar Heels have dominated.
North Carolina had a six-point lead eight minutes into the game before Clemson went on a 12-2 spree to take a 21-17 lead.
Godfrey grinded inside for layups to start and finish the run. In between, he threw in a bank shot from beyond the top of the key, for just his second 3-pointer in two seasons.
The Tar Heels regained the lead on triples by Dixon and Bogavac but the Tigers answered with the final seven points of the period, including the five by Efrem Johnson, which put Clemson up at the break 30-27.
Early in the second half, Stevenson scored the final six points of a 12-point burst that put North Carolina up 44-37. But Welling answered with a triple to trigger a seven-point Tigers run which tied it back up.
Clemson led 52-49, but during a 12-3 run Bogavac drained a trio of 3-pointers to give North Carolina the lead for good.
–Field Level Media
