Fifth seed UNC broke open a tight first half with a 14-5 run that closed out the first 20 minutes, and held off a couple of Boston College second-half charges to top the 12 seed, 81-63, on Wednesday in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
North Carolina (22-10, 12-7 ACC) advances to Thursday’s quarterfinals to play #4 Louisville (24-7, 12-6 ACC). That game will tip at approximately 2:30 p.m.
Boston College (13-19, 5-15 ACC) kept it close for a good part of the first half, A pair of Aaron Brown free throws closed the Eagles to 25-22 with 6:44 to go in the half, but the Tar Heels scored on eight straight possessions to extend their lead to 43-30 at the half.
BC hung around the eight- to twelve-point area for a long stretch of the second half before the Heels took control late, leading by as many as 20.
Marcus Paige had 17 points and nine assists for UNC, which also got 17 points and nine rebounds from Brice Johnson.
Brown had 20 to lead Boston College, which got 18 from first-team All-ACC guard Olivier Hanlan, who struggled shooting, going just 5-for-19 from the field.
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