No. 8 Tar Heels roll past rival Wolfpack

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) Luke Maye scored a season-high 31 points to go with 12 rebounds, and No. 8 North Carolina beat North Carolina State 113-96 on Tuesday night.

Freshman Coby White added 21 points for the Tar Heels (18-4, 8-1 Atlantic Coast Conference), who swept the regular-season set with their nearby rival for the 12th time in 16 seasons under Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams.

UNC was in control all night, shooting 56 percent while dominating the glass and repeatedly getting to the line. The Tar Heels led 56-40 by halftime and pushed that margin to 27 points in the opening minutes of the second half.

Braxton Beverly scored 17 points for the Wolfpack (16-7, 4-6), who were coming off a woeful 24-point showing in Saturday's loss to Virginia Tech. N.C. State warmed back up to shoot 50 percent but was unable to keep up once the Tar Heels got rolling.

BIG PICTURE

N.C. State: There was a looming question of how the Wolfpack would regroup after sputtering to 24 points against the Hokies - the lowest scoring total for any ACC team in the shot-clock era. N.C. State also shot 16.7 percent in that game, the worst mark in league history. Things came much easier this time on the offensive end at least, with N.C. State surpassing Saturday's total with 6:05 left in the first half - which drew sarcastic cheers from many of UNC's home fans. Otherwise, N.C. State did little to slow down the Tar Heels and trailed big most of the night.

UNC: Maye just really likes playing against N.C. State. The preseason Associated Press All-American hasn't shot the ball particularly well this year, but had 21 points in last month's first meeting in Raleigh. He made 10 of 15 shots and all 10 of his free throws in this one, which came five days shy of a full year since he went for a career-high 33 points (27 after halftime) on the Wolfpack's home court. Maye's latest big game helped the Tar Heels win their sixth straight overall.

UP NEXT

N.C. State: Pittsburgh hosts the Wolfpack on Saturday.

UNC: The Tar Heels host Miami on Saturday.

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