BLACKSBURG, VA – North Carolina used a big first-half run and some grittiness after the intermission to earn a 65-57 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday at Cassell Coliseum.

Both teams went through some lengthy shooting slumps, but it was Carolina’s conversions from the perimeter as opposed to the Hokies’ struggles that proved to be one of the differences. UNC ended up 8-for-22 (missed its last six attempts) and the Hokies were 5-for-26.