Tar Heels Grind Past Wake, 68-59, Into ACC Semifinals

Thursday, March 13

Charlotte, N.C.

2:30 PM

North Carolina

22-12,13-7ACC

Wake Forest (Quarterfinal)

21-11,13-7ACC

North Carolina

Wake Forest

Ven-Allen Lubin

Photo by: Maggie Hobson

March 13, 2025 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

CHARLOTTE, N.C.— North Carolina got five three-pointers and 23 points from RJ Davis and clawed past Wake Forest, 68-59, on Thursday in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, bolstering its NCAA Tournament credentials and moving on to Friday's semifinal round against Duke.

The Tar Heels will be playing in the semifinals for the 55th time in 72 ACC Tournaments. Carolina is 36-18 in the semifinals.

Thursday's game was far from an offensive showcase, as both defenses excelled throughout. UNC won despite shooting a season-low 33.9 percent from the floor overall, earning an edge by hitting 8 of 22 three-pointers while the Demon Deacons were 2 for 22 (9.1 percent) from behind the three-point line.

"There's a level of toughness here that has been developed over the last seven or eight months that we've been together, and we were in these type of situations earlier in the year and weren't able to get stronger," Tar Heel head coach Hubert Davis said. "We were able to do it today."

The victory was Davis' 100th in his 143rd game as Carolina's head coach. He is the sixth-fastest coach to 100 wins in ACC history.

RJ Davis hit 5 of 8 three-point attempts and all eight of his free throws in a team-high 37 minutes of action.

Ven-Allen Lubin posted his eighth consecutive double-figure scoring game and third double-double in the last four contests, finishing with 10 points and 13 rebounds. He had two dunks in the final two minutes to seal the victory.

"It was just electric, and making plays like that, just knowing that coach always emphasizes going to the offensive boards, getting us second-chance opportunities," Lubin said. "Just the way I wanted to attack the rim and give our team a chance to give us a win, it was very important that I just had to make those two dunks."

Seth Trimble chipped in 10 points while hitting 8 of 9 free throws, and Jae'Lyn Withers finished with nine points and nine boards.

Hunter Sallis led all scorers with 25 points for the Demon Deacons, who shot 31.0 percent in the second half and 33.9 percent for the game.

The Tar Heels advanced to Friday's first ACC semifinal against top-seeded Duke, which trailed at halftime but came from behind to beat Georgia Tech in Thursday's opening quarterfinal contest. Carolina and the Blue Devils will meet at 7 p.m. on Friday on ESPN.

Carolina improved to 50-14 all-time in the ACC quarterfinals, 110-52 overall in the Tournament and 24-8 in Tournament games played in Charlotte. Overall, the Tar Heels are 169-28 in the city of Charlotte, including 20-3 at the Spectrum Center.

The Tar Heels improved to 22-12 this season with the win, while the Demon Deacons fell to 21-11. On its best hot streak of the season, Carolina has won eight of its last nine.

"There's also a sense of calmness and steadiness that this team has needed all year long, especially in situations like late game," Hubert Davis explained. "Having a guy like RJ that's been there, done that before and being able to draw on his experience and how calm he is and be able to execute under pressure, just helps out our team so much."

How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina started its recent taller lineup of Elliot Cadeau, Davis, Drake Powell, Lubin and Withers. That lineup is now 7-0 this season.
• Wake jumped out to an 11-2 lead before the first timeout. Carolina missed six of its first seven shots and committed three turnovers in the opening 5:15.
• UNC reached double figures in points at the 11:01 mark of the half but was trailing just, 14-10, at that point.
• Carolina ended the first half on an 18-9 run and led, 33-31, at the break. The Tar Heels are 20-3 this season and 77-10 under Hubert Davis when leading at the half.

Second Half
• Both teams struggled offensively coming out of the locker room until the Deacons started to heat up. Wake used a 14-3 run over a span of 5:43 to retake the lead at 46-45 with 11:37 remaining.
• Cadeau picked up his third foul at the 9:21 mark with UNC leading, 50-48. He was whistled for his fourth on a double foul with Cameron Hildreth just over a minute later. Carolina led, 50-49, with 8:11 to go despite missing 10 consecutive shots as Cadeau headed to the bench.
• A tripping foul was called against Wake's Juke Harris at the 7:42 mark, resulting in two shots for Withers and possession going to Carolina. Shortly thereafter, officials whistled a technical foul against the UNC bench, giving the lead back to WFU at 53-52.
• Davis stepped on a defender's foot when driving to the basket and came up limping at the 6:49 mark. He sank two free throws thereafter and remained in the game.
• UNC missed 12 consecutive shots and 15 of 16, going over 10 minutes of game time without a field goal until Withers hit a three-pointer with 4:35 to go.
• Lubin's blocked shot started a transition opportunity that ended with Davis hitting a three-pointer with 2:43 to play, giving Carolina a 61-57 led.
• An alley-oop from Cadeau to Lubin with 2:04 to go, then a follow slam by Lubin 30 seconds later, gave Carolina a 65-59 lead with 1:27 remaining.

Up Next
Carolina will face top-seeded Duke on Friday at 7 p.m. in Charlotte in the ACC semifinals.