BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Trayce Jackson-Davis had 21 points and 10 rebounds, Xavier Johnson scored 20 points and No. 10 Indiana beat No. 18 UNC 77-65 on Wednesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
The Hoosiers (7-0) produced their most impressive win of the season two days after cracking the top 10 for the first time since 2017 and exactly six years since beating a Tar Heels team that went on to win the national title.
Pete Nance had 15 points and 12 rebounds to lead UNC (5-3), the preseason No. 1 that has lost three straight for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Caleb Love scored 13 points.
The Tar Heels were not themselves after playing three games in four days last weekend in Portland, Oregon, and losing Sunday to No. 18 Alabama in quadruple overtime. Then came a cross-country trip to Indiana.
While some fatigue was evident in UNC’s poor shooting, the Hoosiers still put on a defensive performance that would have made former coach Bob Knight proud. One day after Knight watched the Hoosiers practice, the Tar Heels were 8 of 28 from the field in the first half and opened the second half 1 of 7.
The result: Indiana made the final 27½ minutes look relatively easy.
It used a 7-0 first half run to start pulling away. After Puff Johnson briefly halted it with two free throws, the Hoosiers scored six straight to make it 34-24.
UNC cut the deficit to 35-29 at the half, but Indiana opened the second with an 11-2 charge to take a 46-31 lead with 15:59 to go, and the Tar Heels couldn’t get closer than seven the rest of the way.
Jackson-Davis got the better of Armando Bacot in a matchup of preseason All-Americans.
Bacot came into the game with an injured right ankle and went to the locker room briefly after hurting his right shoulder just 3½ minutes into the game. When Bacot returned, he battled foul trouble and struggled with his shooting touch as he scored four points in the first half.
He added tape to the shoulder at halftime and finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 4 of 10.
UNC completes a five-game stretch away from Chapel Hill on Sunday at ACC foe Virginia Tech.
High Point 84, Elon 70
AMHERST, Mass. — Emmanuel Izunabor had 15 points in High Point’s 84-70 win over Elon on Wednesday night.
Izunabor also added nine rebounds for the Panthers (6-1). Abdoulaye Thiam scored 14 points and Jaden House finished with 13 points.
The Phoenix (1-7) were led by Max Mackinnon, who posted 24 points and 12 rebounds. Sam Sherry added 19 points and nine rebounds for Elon. Sean Halloran also had 13 points, seven assists and two steals. The Phoenix have now lost seven in a row.
N.C. A&T 73, UNC Greensboro 56
GREENSBORO — Kam Woods scored 23 points as North Carolina A&T beat UNC Greensboro 73-56 on Wednesday night.
Marcus Watson added 13 points and also had nine rebounds. Demetric Horton finished with 13 points while adding seven assists and three steals.
Dante Treacy led the way for the Spartans (3-5) with 17 points. Mohammed Abdulsalam added 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Gardner-Webb 71, Western Carolina 55
CULLOWHEE — Kareem Reid scored 15 points as Gardner-Webb beat Western Carolina 71-55 on Wednesday night.
Reid finished 7 of 9 from the floor for the Runnin’ Bulldogs (2-5). DQ Nicholas added 14 points and Anthony Selden finished with 14 points.
Tre Jackson finished with 14 points and seven rebounds for the Catamounts (4-4). Tyzhaun Claude added 11 points for Western Carolina. Vonterius Woolbright also had 11 points.
UNC Wilmington 60, Coastal Carolina 58
CONWAY, S.C. — Trazarien White had 12 points in UNC Wilmington’s 60-58 win against Coastal Carolina on Wednesday night.
White also contributed eight rebounds for the Seahawks (6-3). Jamahri Harvey scored 12 points while going 4 of 6 from the floor, including 4 for 5 on 3-pointers. Maleeck Harden-Hayes added 10 points.
Essam Mostafa led the way for the Chanticleers (3-3) with 21 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Coastal Carolina also got 16 points and two blocks from Josh Uduje.
