CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jae’Lyn Withers connected on seven 3-pointers to account for his career-high 21 points and North Carolina rolled to a 76-56 victory against Notre Dame in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament’s second round Wednesday afternoon at Charlotte, N.C.
Ven-Allen Lubin provided 17 points and 10 rebounds, and RJ Davis had 13 points for North Carolina, which raced to an early lead and didn’t let up. Withers tied a North Carolina team record for 3-point baskets in the ACC tournament.
Fifth-seeded North Carolina (21-12), which has won seven of its last eight games, meets fourth-seeded Wake Forest (21-10) in Thursday afternoon’s quarterfinals.
ACC scoring leader Markus Burton scored 11 points for 12th-seeded Notre Dame (15-18).
Notre Dame couldn’t generate enough offense to keep pace. The Irish committed only six turnovers but shot 32.3 percent from the floor. That included 6-for-20 on 3-pointers.
It marked North Carolina’s 26th consecutive victory when holding an opponent to fewer than 60 points.
Withers shot 7-for-10 on 3s. He didn’t attempt a 2-point shot or a free throw, with all nine of his rebounds coming on the defensive end.
Davis made three 3-pointers, with the Tar Heels going 13-for-28 from beyond the arc. North Carolina held a 42-34 rebounding advantage.
North Carolina was up by 21 points before the Irish scored the final six points of the half to make it 43-29.
The Tar Heels made six of their first nine 3-point attempts to lead 21-8. With five first-half 3s, Withers was the first Tar Heel with five or more 3-point baskets in an ACC tournament game in five years — and then he kept going in the second half.
Notre Dame had a busy finishing stretch of the season. The Irish beat California in four overtimes Saturday and then escaped with Tuesday’s 55-54 victory against Pitt in the tournament’s first round.
–By Bob Sutton, Field Level Media
