Joel Berry II added 21 points for the Tar Heels (20-7, 9-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), who closed a tough stretch with their third game in five days. The first two were emotional rivalry wins, the first coming at home against Duke and Saturday's coming at North Carolina State.
[Ads /]
This time, UNC needed a 13-0 burst in the final 5 minutes to finally get some separation against a team that just kept hanging around.
Top scorer Luke Maye struggled to just eight points on 3-for-11 shooting after scoring 33 at N.C. State. But UNC still shot 57 percent after halftime for a fourth straight win.
Martinas Geben and John Mooney each scored 18 points for the Fighting Irish (15-11, 5-8).
BIG PICTURE
[Ads /]
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish have been just trying to stay afloat with preseason Associated Press All-American Bonzie Colson sidelined with a broken foot. They had lost seven straight - point guard Matt Farrell missed some of that time with an ankle problem - but they had found a bit of a groove since with consecutive high-scoring wins as Farrell returned to health. They were right in this one, trailing just 67-63 before UNC's clinching run, despite Farrell scoring nine points on 3-for-18 shooting (including 1 for 12 from 3-point range).
Roy Williams speaks after the game
UNC: The Tar Heels have played compact schedules in the ACC Tournament or in the PK80 Invitational earlier this season, but this was the first time they were playing three regular-season league games in a five-day span since February 1991. Simply put, they can take a breath and regroup.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame: The Irish visit Boston College on Saturday.
UNC: The Tar Heels visit Louisville on Saturday.