CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Caleb Love hit a career-tying six 3-pointers and scored 23 points, Armando Bacot had 19 points and 11 rebounds and North Carolina beat Clemson 91-71 on Saturday.
Bacot posted his 15th double-double of the season and 64th of his career as the Tar Heels (16-9, 8-6 ACC) snapped a three-game losing streak. RJ Davis added four 3-pointers and 17 points. North Carolina made a season-high tying 15 of 33 3-point attempts and shot 48% overall.
PJ Hall scored 18 points, Chase Hunter added 15 but on 3-of-16 shooting and Brevin Galloway added 10 for the Tigers (18-7, 10-4), who lost their third straight and dropped out of a first-place tie. Leading scorer Hunter Tyson had an early 3-pointer to go over 1,000 career points but that was all he got, taking just two shots in 32 minutes against the defense of Leaky Black.
Bacot restored a double-digit lead with the first basket of the second half and the Tar Heels, hitting eight of their first nine shots, built a 19-point bulge with the aid of four 3-pointers, two from Love. The lead remained in double figures and reached 25 with 6:23 to go after an 11-0 run that included 3-pointers by Puff Johnson, Love and Davis.
Love scored 12 points in the first half, including consecutive 3-pointers that boosted North Carolina into a 22-17 lead. Bacot had 10 points and nine rebounds and the Tar Heels led 42-33 at halftime.
North Carolina is host to Miami on Monday. Clemson is host to Florida State on Wednesday.