Monday, January 21, 2019 07:00 PM (ET)

White helps No. 11 North Carolina sink No. 10 Virginia Tech

Field Level Media
Jan 21, 2019

Freshman guard Coby White finished with 27 points as No. 11 North Carolina rode a 20-0 first-half run in toppling No. 10 Virginia Tech 103-82 on Monday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.

North Carolina made a season-high 16 shots from 3-point range, including 14 of 18 during one stretch. That came after the Tar Heels missed their first 11 long-range attempts. Nassir Little's 23 points off the bench led a strong supporting effort for North Carolina, which included 14 points from Luke Maye, 12 from Garrison Brooks and 10 from Kenny Williams (all in the second half).

North Carolina (15-4, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) holds sole possession of first place in the ACC.

Ahmed Hill scored 20 points, Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each had 19 points, and Justin Robinson added 17 for Virginia Tech (15-3, 4-2), which gave up 20 more points than it had in any other game this season.

It marked the first time the Hokies were ranked for a matchup with North Carolina. The Tar Heels improved to 10-9 under coach Roy Williams when facing a higher-ranked ACC opponent at home.

North Carolina led 45-31 at halftime, boosted by a combined 24 points from White and Brooks along with Virginia Tech's 12 turnovers.

Earlier, Virginia Tech hit a barrage of 3-poiners for a 19-11 lead before the first media timeout.

Brooks scored eight of North Carolina's first 13 points.

The Hokies were 6-for-7 on 3s and held a 22-13 lead about eight minutes into the game. That was a contrast to last week's loss at Virginia, when Virginia Tech had 22 first-half points.

Robinson, though, picked up his third foul on a charge at the 9:52 mark, in the midst of a three-minute field-goal drought for both teams.

Later, White canned consecutive threes to give North Carolina its first lead at 31-29 with 3:52 left in the half. His third 3-pointer of the period made it 39-29, and Brooks' three-point play and Johnson's 3 capped a 20-0 run. Blackshear's tip-in on Virginia Tech's final possession of the half ended the streak and made it 45-31 at the half.

Virginia Tech won the lone meeting last season with the Tar Heels, 80-69.

--Field Level Media

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