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Tar Heels dominate Hokies

Jan 19, 2015 - 4:30 AM Chapel Hill, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Justin Jackson scored 16 points with a full line and Brice Johnson posted a double-double as No. 15 North Carolina took care of Virginia Tech, 68-53, on Sunday.

Johnson tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds and Jackson added seven boards and four assists for North Carolina (14-4, 4-1 ACC), which won comfortably after playing three straight nail biters. The Tar Heels went 2-1 during a stretch of one-possession finishes.

"Sometimes you've got to win ugly to have a really good year," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "That was an ugly win."

J.P. Tokoto added 10 points and three other Tar Heels chipped in eight apiece.

Adam Smith paced the Hokies (8-9, 0-4) with 11 points, and Shane Henry scored 10 with nine rebounds.

"I thought we controlled the time of possession, which you have to do against a team as fast and as good as they are," Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said. "It's just really hard when you get beat as hard on the glass as hard as we do, but I thought that we were trying really, really hard."

Virginia Tech was without leading scorer Justin Bibbs, who missed the game with a concussion.

Virginia Tech stayed within striking distance early on, trailing just 19-16 following Jalen Hudson's 3 near the midpoint of the first half. But the Hokies went nearly seven minutes without a point after that as UNC created some distance.

Dunks by Johnson, Tokoto and Isaiah Hicks kicked off an 11-0 run, which Jackson capped with five points.

The Tar Heels led 34-21 at halftime and extended the lead to 17 points on back-to-back Johnson baskets with 11 1/2 minutes to play.

Virginia Tech trailed by at least eight the rest of the way.

Game Notes

UNC outrebounded Virginia Tech, 49-22 ... Virginia Tech has lost five straight games ... Virginia Tech has lost 13 straight road games dating back to last season.