CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Jae’Lyn Withers scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Ian Jackson also scored 16 points and North Carolina defeated Virginia 81-66 on Saturday.
Withers was 4 of 6 on 3-pointers in posting his second double-double this season and Jackson added three more 3s. Ven-Allen Lubin scored 14 points, RJ Davis 12 and Drake Powell 11 for the Tar Heels (17-11, 10-6 ACC), who made 9 of 16 from the arc and outrebounded the Cavaliers 35-21.
Isaac McKneely scored 17 points and became the 52nd Cavalier to reach 1,000 career points. Dai Dai Ames added 12 points for Virginia (13-14, 6-10).
Virginia trailed by eight at halftime and didn’t get closer in the second half. A three-point play by Jackson gave the Tar Heels a 20-point lead with six minutes remaining.
Both teams came in having won three of their last four games but it was UNC that took off to a 21-2 lead at the start, hitting 8 of 12 shots and the Cavaliers starting 1 of 10. The Tar Heels helped Virginia get back in the game with flagrant-one and technical fouls that resulted in four free throws within a 14-3 run but UNC still led at the half 46-34.
North Carolina plays at Florida State on Monday. Virginia plays at Wake Forest on Wednesday.