Louisville Cardinals vs North Carolina Tar Heels Box Score on Feb 21, 2022

Armando Bacot notched his 21st double-double of the season and North Carolina held off Louisville for a 70-63 victory Monday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Bacot had 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Tar Heels (20-8, 12-5 ACC), who won their second straight game and kept their hopes for an NCAA Tournament berth alive. Monday's win marked the 62nd time that UNC has won 20 games or more in a single season.

Additionally for UNC, Brady Manek scored 17 points, and RJ Davis and Caleb Love each had 16.

For Louisville (12-15, 6-11), Malik Williams, Dre Davis and Jae'Lyn Withers each had 10 points.

The game was tightly contested throughout, as neither the Cardinals nor Tar Heels led by more than three possessions. The game featured eight lead changes and was tied another nine times. UNC's largest lead, seven points, didn't come until there were 19 seconds remaining.

Louisville's largest lead was four points, taken at the 8:06 mark in the first half on a jumper from Samuell Williamson. The Tar Heels responded with a 9-2 run to take a three-point lead with less than five minutes to play in the first half. Love had five points and a rebound during that stretch.

The contest was tied at halftime, despite Louisville shooting 45.5 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes. After falling behind early in the second half, North Carolina took a two-point lead following a 3-pointer and tomahawk dunk on back-to-back possessions from Leaky Black.

UNC took the lead away from Louisville for the final time at the 5:52 mark in the second half on a steal and lay-up from Davis. Beginning with that basket, the Tar Heels finished the game on a 10-3 run. Louisville went scoreless in the final 2:56 of the game.

North Carolina went 9 of 9 from the free throw line in the second half while Louisville went 0 for 2.

Louisville is now 1-6 since dismissing former coach Chris Mack on Jan. 26.

North Carolina will aim to pad its resume for the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, when it plays at rival N.C. State.

--Field Level Media