Tar Heels weather late Miami charge, Armando Bacot and Cormac Ryan help seal win

As has been the case recently, no game is easy for the UNC men’s basketball team.

The Tar Heels rode a seesaw like they were on the playground Saturday afternoon – bursting out to a huge lead in the opening minutes, trailing at halftime, enjoying a second-half surge and enduring multiple second-half runs by Miami, including one that cut its deficit to two in the final minute.

Cormac Ryan and Armando Bacot ensured the Hurricanes wouldn’t send UNC to a second-consecutive loss.

Ryan deflected a crucial, potential game-tying pass in the final 30 seconds then hit a clutch free throw in the final 10 seconds, Bacot’s solid defense on Miami star Norchad Omier prevented another game-tying basket and North Carolina escaped Coral Gables with a much-needed, 75-72 win that kept it atop the ACC.

The Tar Heels (19-5, 11-2) cooked up a starter-heavy gameplan against the pesky Hurricanes (15-9, 6-7), with Bacot (10), Harrison Ingram (13), Elliot Cadeau (19) and RJ Davis (25) all scoring in double-figures. Zayden High was the only UNC bench player to score, making one free throw.

North Carolina looked plenty more alert and ready to play throughout Saturday’s game. Miami came back throughout points of Saturday’s game, but the Tar Heels never wavered. I imagine UNC head coach Hubert Davis was pretty ticked off after the Clemson loss – the Tar Heels didn’t want a repeat of that.

Up next for North Carolina is Syracuse – on Tuesday evening at home. This is a game UNC should easily win, but we said the same thing about Georgia Tech and Clemson.

For now, let’s enjoy this hard-fought victory.

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Story originally appeared on Tarheels Wire