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University of North Carolina Athletics
Saturday, January 11
Raleigh, N.C.
4 PM
North Carolina
11-6,4-1ACC
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61
NC State
9-7,2-3ACC
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North Carolina
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NC State
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Jalen Washington
Photo by: Maggie Hobson
Washington's Last-Minute Heroics Lead 63-61 Win At NC State
January 11, 2025 | Men's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C.—Jalen Washington scored the winning basket, blocked the potentially game-tying shot and recorded his first career double-double in a 63-61 North Carolina win at NC State on Saturday afternoon at the Lenovo Center.
After Carolina forced a State turnover with 41 seconds to play and the score tied at 61-all, Elliot Cadeau drove the lane and fed an acrobatic, over-the-shoulder pass to Washington for a dunk and a 63-61 lead with 24 ticks left.
Following a timeout, Washington blocked Jayden Taylor's potentially game-tying shot with a second left, grabbing his career-high 12th rebound to preserve the victory. He scored 11 points for his first career double-double.
Ian Jackson scored 21 points, hitting a career-high five three-pointers in eight attempts. It was Jackson's team-high sixth 20-point game of the season and fifth in the last sixth games. RJ Davis added 11 points, and Drake Powell scored eight. Davis became the 13th Tar Heel and first since Marcus Paige to compile 500 career assists.
Cadeau had 11 assists against just three turnovers. He is the first Tar Heel to have multiple games with at least 10 assists in the same season since Theo Pinson in 2017-18. He also is the first Tar Heel with three games of at least 10 assists in his career since Kendall Marshall had 23 games with 10 or more assists from 2010-12. His 11 assists are the most by a Tar Heel vs. NC State since Marshall had 13 on February 11, 2012.
Marcus Hill led the Wolfpack with 20 points on 10 of 19 shooting from the floor.
The Tar Heels held NC State to just 20 first-half points (a season-low by a Carolina opponent) and have won 23 straight games when allowing fewer than 70 points. The Pack shot 60 percent and outscored UNC, 41-37, in the second half but came up short in the closing moments in large part due to Washington's efforts.
Carolina improved to 11-6 overall and 4-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the win. UNC has won three games in a row and seven of its last nine. NCSU lost for the third time in four outings and fell to 9-7, 2-3.
The Tar Heels are 39-7 in the last 21 seasons and 56-14 over the last 33 years vs. NC State. The Wolfpack hasn't beaten Carolina in consecutive games since 2003, and UNC is 167-81 all-time against the Pack. The 167 wins are the most wins by UNC against any opponent. The Tar Heels are 20-6 against the Wolfpack in the Lenovo Center.
The first half was a sluggish affair with both teams struggling offensively. Carolina led, 26-20, at the break after its lowest scoring half of the season. At the same time, the Tar Heel defense limited the Wolfpack to 20 points (the fewest allowed by UNC in a half all season) and 22.5 percent shooting (State's worst shooting half of 2024-25 to date).
The 46 combined points in the first half are the fewest in the first half between NC State and UNC since the teams combined for 41 points in the first half of the 1998 ACC Tournament in Greensboro.
Both teams made runs in an entertaining second half. State shot 60 percent from the field as Carolina shooters cooled after halftime, but Jackson's strong second half helped the Tar Heels hit 5 of 10 three-point attempts in the final 20 minutes.
Though the score was always relatively close, the Tar Heels led for most of the game until State used a 9-0 run to take a 36-35 lead six minutes into the second half. Carolina roared back to match its biggest lead of the game after a Jackson three-pointer with 5:53 left made the score 56-47.
The Wolfpack mounted a 12-2 rally to retake the lead at 59-58 with 2:28 remaining. A three-pointer by Jackson gave Carolina a 61-59 advantage. State tied it at 61 moments later, leading to Cadeau's pass to Washington for the game-winning dunk.
The Tar Heels have won 23 consecutive games when allowing fewer than 70 points.
How It Happened
First Half
• Before the first media timeout, Davis handed out his 500th career assist, becoming the 13th Tar Heel and first since Marcus Paige to cross the 500-assist threshold.
• During the next segment of the game, State missed 10 of 11 shots during one stretch but held Carolina scoreless for over two minutes itself.
• The Tar Heel defense held the Pack to 21.7 percent shooting (5 for 23) in the first minutes.
• UNC missed its first five three-point attempts until Drake Powell hit one with just over six minutes left until halftime, and NCSU missed its first nine from long range until connecting with 2:24 left. The Wolfpack went 1 for 12 from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
• The Tar Heels went on a 7-0 run over a span of 3:16 to take a 21-17 lead at the final media timeout at the 3:07 mark.
• Jackson hit a three with 2:50 remaining for his first points of the game. He has made at least one three-pointer in each of his 16 games this season.
• State scored 20 first-half points, the fewest allowed by the Tar Heels in a half all season (previous low was 21 by American in the second half).
• NC State shot 22.5 percent from the floor in the first half (9 of 40), its worst shooting half of the season (previous low was 29.6% in the first half against BYU on 8 of 27 shooting).
• Carolina scored 26 points in the first half, its lowest scoring output in a half this season (previous low was 31 on two occasions).
Second Half
• Jackson heated up in the opening minutes of the second half. He hit a three on UNC's first possession of the second half to make it 29-20, Carolina's biggest lead of the day to that point, then hit another before the first media timeout.
• Jackson is the first Tar Heel freshman to hit multiple threes in six consecutive games since Kerwin Walton hit multiple threes in nine in a row in 2020-21.
• State used a 9-0 run to take a 36-35 lead, but the Tar Heels replied with two free throws by Washington and a steal and breakaway dunk by Seth Trimble that made it 39-35 at the second media timeout (11:38).
Up Next
The Tar Heels will play the first of back-to-back home games next week when it hosts Cal on Wednesday night.
After Carolina forced a State turnover with 41 seconds to play and the score tied at 61-all, Elliot Cadeau drove the lane and fed an acrobatic, over-the-shoulder pass to Washington for a dunk and a 63-61 lead with 24 ticks left.
Following a timeout, Washington blocked Jayden Taylor's potentially game-tying shot with a second left, grabbing his career-high 12th rebound to preserve the victory. He scored 11 points for his first career double-double.
Ian Jackson scored 21 points, hitting a career-high five three-pointers in eight attempts. It was Jackson's team-high sixth 20-point game of the season and fifth in the last sixth games. RJ Davis added 11 points, and Drake Powell scored eight. Davis became the 13th Tar Heel and first since Marcus Paige to compile 500 career assists.
Cadeau had 11 assists against just three turnovers. He is the first Tar Heel to have multiple games with at least 10 assists in the same season since Theo Pinson in 2017-18. He also is the first Tar Heel with three games of at least 10 assists in his career since Kendall Marshall had 23 games with 10 or more assists from 2010-12. His 11 assists are the most by a Tar Heel vs. NC State since Marshall had 13 on February 11, 2012.
Marcus Hill led the Wolfpack with 20 points on 10 of 19 shooting from the floor.
The Tar Heels held NC State to just 20 first-half points (a season-low by a Carolina opponent) and have won 23 straight games when allowing fewer than 70 points. The Pack shot 60 percent and outscored UNC, 41-37, in the second half but came up short in the closing moments in large part due to Washington's efforts.
Carolina improved to 11-6 overall and 4-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the win. UNC has won three games in a row and seven of its last nine. NCSU lost for the third time in four outings and fell to 9-7, 2-3.
The Tar Heels are 39-7 in the last 21 seasons and 56-14 over the last 33 years vs. NC State. The Wolfpack hasn't beaten Carolina in consecutive games since 2003, and UNC is 167-81 all-time against the Pack. The 167 wins are the most wins by UNC against any opponent. The Tar Heels are 20-6 against the Wolfpack in the Lenovo Center.
The first half was a sluggish affair with both teams struggling offensively. Carolina led, 26-20, at the break after its lowest scoring half of the season. At the same time, the Tar Heel defense limited the Wolfpack to 20 points (the fewest allowed by UNC in a half all season) and 22.5 percent shooting (State's worst shooting half of 2024-25 to date).
The 46 combined points in the first half are the fewest in the first half between NC State and UNC since the teams combined for 41 points in the first half of the 1998 ACC Tournament in Greensboro.
Both teams made runs in an entertaining second half. State shot 60 percent from the field as Carolina shooters cooled after halftime, but Jackson's strong second half helped the Tar Heels hit 5 of 10 three-point attempts in the final 20 minutes.
Though the score was always relatively close, the Tar Heels led for most of the game until State used a 9-0 run to take a 36-35 lead six minutes into the second half. Carolina roared back to match its biggest lead of the game after a Jackson three-pointer with 5:53 left made the score 56-47.
The Wolfpack mounted a 12-2 rally to retake the lead at 59-58 with 2:28 remaining. A three-pointer by Jackson gave Carolina a 61-59 advantage. State tied it at 61 moments later, leading to Cadeau's pass to Washington for the game-winning dunk.
The Tar Heels have won 23 consecutive games when allowing fewer than 70 points.
How It Happened
First Half
• Before the first media timeout, Davis handed out his 500th career assist, becoming the 13th Tar Heel and first since Marcus Paige to cross the 500-assist threshold.
• During the next segment of the game, State missed 10 of 11 shots during one stretch but held Carolina scoreless for over two minutes itself.
• The Tar Heel defense held the Pack to 21.7 percent shooting (5 for 23) in the first minutes.
• UNC missed its first five three-point attempts until Drake Powell hit one with just over six minutes left until halftime, and NCSU missed its first nine from long range until connecting with 2:24 left. The Wolfpack went 1 for 12 from behind the arc in the opening 20 minutes.
• The Tar Heels went on a 7-0 run over a span of 3:16 to take a 21-17 lead at the final media timeout at the 3:07 mark.
• Jackson hit a three with 2:50 remaining for his first points of the game. He has made at least one three-pointer in each of his 16 games this season.
• State scored 20 first-half points, the fewest allowed by the Tar Heels in a half all season (previous low was 21 by American in the second half).
• NC State shot 22.5 percent from the floor in the first half (9 of 40), its worst shooting half of the season (previous low was 29.6% in the first half against BYU on 8 of 27 shooting).
• Carolina scored 26 points in the first half, its lowest scoring output in a half this season (previous low was 31 on two occasions).
Second Half
• Jackson heated up in the opening minutes of the second half. He hit a three on UNC's first possession of the second half to make it 29-20, Carolina's biggest lead of the day to that point, then hit another before the first media timeout.
• Jackson is the first Tar Heel freshman to hit multiple threes in six consecutive games since Kerwin Walton hit multiple threes in nine in a row in 2020-21.
• State used a 9-0 run to take a 36-35 lead, but the Tar Heels replied with two free throws by Washington and a steal and breakaway dunk by Seth Trimble that made it 39-35 at the second media timeout (11:38).
Up Next
The Tar Heels will play the first of back-to-back home games next week when it hosts Cal on Wednesday night.
Team Stats
UNC
NCSU
FG%
.433
.369
3FG%
.368
.158
FT%
.500
.833
RB
40
38
TO
12
9
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
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