North Carolina 81 Boston College 63
North Carolina’s Brice Johnson scored 17 points during a win against 12th-seeded Boston College (13-19) on Wednesday in the second round of the ACC tournament.
Marcus Paige added 17 points, six rebounds, and nine assists for the fifth-seeded Tar Heels (22-10), who were without starting forward Kennedy Meeks. North Carolina struggled somewhat in putting away Eagles, but were able to pull away late.
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The Tar Heels led by 43-30 at the half, and maintained a lead of at least eight points while recovering from a poor shooting start to the first half before eventually finishing at 52 percent.
North Carolina outrebounded the Eagles 43-25, and were able to overcome a deliberate slow pace set by head coach John Christian.
Aaron Brown scored 20 points to lead Boston College, while guard Olivier Hanlan scored 18 points on 5-for-19 shooting from the field, despite beginning the game 3-of-5. Hanlan had the game winning basket for the Eagles in Tuesday’s win over Georgia Tech. BC had closed the regular season with three straight wins after a 1-14 start in ACC conference play.
Meeks, the Tar Heels’ starting center, is out with an illness, and his return date is uncertain.
Up next: North Carolina takes on fourth-seeded Louisville at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday.
