WRAL Sports Fan

Final Score: North Carolina 77, Florida State 72

Tallahassee, FL (Sports Network) - P.J. Hairston had a career-high 23 points off the bench, as the North Carolina Tar Heels notched a 77-72 victory over the Florida State Seminoles in Atlantic Coast Conference play at the Tucker Center.

James Michael McAdoo added 14 points and Reggie Bullock scored 12 to help the Tar Heels (11-5, 1-2 ACC) avoid matching their worst ACC start. McAdoo and Bullock each grabbed eight rebounds in the victory.

Okaro White led the Seminoles (10-6, 2-1) with 15 points, all of which were scored in the second half. Terry Whisnant chipped in with 14 points, and Terrance Shannon finished with 12 off the bench.

The Tar Heels grabbed a 33-31 halftime lead after burying six 3-pointers in the opening frame (.400), although they never led by more than six points at any point of the contest.

UNC shot a healthy 53.3 percent from the floor in the second half, but FSU was able to hang around thanks to a 6-of-11 effort from the perimeter over the final 20 minutes. The Tar Heels took the lead for good on a layup by Simmons with 3:09 remaining to make it a 73-72 game. A jumper by Hairston made it 75-72 with 2:10 to play, and Marcus Paige sank a pair of free throws in the final seconds to seal the win.

UNC capitalized on its size advantage with a lopsided 41-19 rebounding advantage for the game, including a key 19-6 edge on the offensive glass.