WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina

North Carolina defeats Georgia Tech, 79-63

Jan 23, 2013

Chapel Hill, N.C. — FINAL: Three Tar Heels have scored in double-digits helping North Carolina defeat Georgia Tech 79-63.

3:42, second half, 72-55 UNC: North Carolina is having an easy time staying ahead of Georgia Tech, thanks to a big game from PJ Hairston off the bench. The Heels lead Georgia Tech 72-55.

10:55, second half, 63-48 UNC: Reggie Bullock, James Michael McAdoo and PJ Hairston have all passed into double-digit points, helping the Heels keep their lead over Georgia Tech.

15:40, second half, 49-38 UNC: Reggie Bullock is padding his stat line as the second half unfolds. Bullock has 14 points and James Michael McAdoo and PJ Hairston are a basket away from breaking double-digits themselves. Kammeon Holsey leads Georgia Tech with 12 points off the bench but the Heels are easily staying ahead of the Yellow Jackets.

Halftime, 40-32 UNC: Reggie Bullock leads the Heels with nine points, three rebounds, two steals and a block. North Carolina jumped out to a lead and kept it the entire first half bringing the score to 40-32 at the half.

7:46, first half, 30-17 UNC: The Heels are shooting 50% from the floor and 50% from behind the arc, whereas Georgia Tech is shooting 31 and 20%. North Carolina leads the Yellow Jackets 30-17.

11:43, first half, 23-15 UNC: PJ Hairston has come off the bench and shot 100% with three made field goals, two being three-pointers. The Heels lead Georgia Tech 23-15.

15:50, first half, 8-6 UNC: Reggie Bullock is off to a hot start for the Tar Heels after scoring his career high against Maryland Saturday. Bullock leads the team with four points.

---

Still seeking their first conference win of the season, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets square off with the North Carolina Tar Heels in Atlantic Coast Conference action at the Smith Center on Wednesday.

Brian Gregory's second season at the helm in Atlanta has been a mixed bag. One of the youngest teams in the nation. Georgia Tech has shown flashes of strong play, but long stretches of futility as well. The team is currently in the midst of one of those skeins, having lost four straight games, all in- conference, including last week's 73-57 loss at Duke.

Roy Williams' Tar Heels have also experienced lulls this season, more than they have normally. UNC comes into this contest with a 12-5 overall mark. However, after losing its first two conference games, North Carolina has pulled even at 2-2 with back-to-back wins over Florida State (77-72) and most recently, Maryland (62-52).

North Carolina holds a 61-24 edge in the all-time series with Georgia Tech and is an impressive 21-4 in games played at the Smith Center.

Georgia Tech turned the ball over a costly 21 times and lacked the offensive firepower to overcome the miscues in a lopsided loss at Duke last time out. Freshman guard Chris Bolden led the Yellow Jackets with 20 points, but got little help elsewhere, as Mfon Udofia and Daniel Miller tied for second on the team with just nine points.

Scoring has certainly been problematic for Georgia Tech this season, as the team is averaging just 65.0 ppg on a mediocre .419 shooting. Freshman swingman Marcus Georges-Hunt boasts of the only double-digit average at this time at a mere 10.7 ppg. Yet another freshman in Robert Carter Jr. and a senior in Udofia are just outside the mark looking in at 9.9 ppg each.

The Tar Heels got a career-high 24 points from Reggie Bullock and a double- double from James Michael McAdoo (19 points, 11 rebounds), as the team was able to keep the Terrapins at arm's length en route to the victory in Chapel Hill this past weekend.

Despite a rather modest record to date, the Tar Heels remain a dangerous squad with above-average scoring prowess (78.6 ppg). McAdoo was tabbed as an All- American candidate coming into the season, but like his team, has had lulls throughout the campaign. The sophomore forward still leads the team in both scoring (14.7 ppg) and rebounding (8.2 rpg), but is also pacing the team in turnovers (51). Bullock and P.J. Hairston are valuable assets in the frontcourt as well, netting 14.1 and 11.8 ppg, respectively.

The Yellow Jackets have had serious problems on the road this year and won't find any relief in Chapel Hill.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: North Carolina 72, Georgia Tech 59

 

• Web Editor: Erin Summers