Virginia 52 - 70 7North Carolina
Final
  for this game

Heels bounce back with solid effort against Virginia

Feb 12, 2012 - 12:01 AM

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Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) - Tyler Zeller had 25 points and No. 5 North Carolina got a bounce-back, 70-52 win over 19th-ranked Virginia on Saturday.

The Tar Heels (21-4, 8-2 ACC) pulled away in the second half, wiping away the taste of Wednesday's last-second loss to Austin Rivers and Duke, which snapped their 31-game home winning streak.

Zeller added nine rebounds to lead North Carolina against Virginia, while Harrison Barnes scored 14 points with 11 boards. John Henson also posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"Needless to say, we feel a heck of a lot better now than we did," said North Carolina coach Roy Williams.

Mike Scott led Virginia (19-5, 6-4) with 18 points and Jontel Evans had 12.

Reggie Bullock scored all five of his points during a 12-2 North Carolina run in the second half, which gave the Tar Heels a double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

Zeller had four points during the spurt, but Bullock led the way, knocking down a three that made it a 13-point game. Moments later, Kendall Marshall's jumper gave North Carolina a 61-46 lead with 6 1/2 minutes left and the Cavaliers were never within single digits afterward.

"There was a stretch in the second half where we lost our way and couldn't get them off the glass and had some breakdowns defensively," said Virginia coach Tony Bennett.

Earlier, though, it was a different story.

Virginia missed its first five shots of the game, but made its next seven to take a 16-9 lead. Scott hit back-to-back jumpers after two straight Tar Heels turnovers, capping a 9-0 run and forcing North Carolina to call a timeout.

The Tar Heels then scored the next nine points, holding Virginia scoreless for around five minutes while they took an 18-16 lead. Zeller's 14 points in the first half helped North Carolina lead 35-32 at the break. Scott and Evans had 10 points apiece for the Cavaliers in the first half.

Game Notes

North Carolina has won seven of its last eight games against Virginia and leads the all-time series 126-49, including a 64-6 mark in Chapel Hill (22-3 at Smith Center). The teams will meet again on February 25 at Virginia.






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