PITTSBURGH — Armando Bacot spent the last three seasons watching UNC let winnable games against Pittsburgh slip away.
The longtime Tar Heels center took it personally. So, apparently, did his team.
Bacot scored 16 points to become the seventh player in program history to reach 2,000 in his career, RJ Davis added 15 and No. 8 UNC bullied its way past Pittsburgh 70-57 on Tuesday night.
The Tar Heels (10-3, 2-0 ACC) used Davis’ shot-making and the inside presence of Bacot and Harrison Ingram to outmuscle the Panthers (9-5, 0-3). UNC outrebounded Pitt 51-41 and had a 15-1 advantage in second-chance points to beat the Panthers for just the second time in their last seven meetings.
The Tar Heels have won three straight since competitive back-to-back losses to Connecticut and Kentucky, and they showed against Pitt they can play with a rugged edge they may have lacked a few weeks ago.
“We’re trying to take every game serious and not take anything for granted,” Bacot said. “That’s what we’re trying to do this year, take it game by game and not look forward.”
Bub Carrington led the Panthers with 20 points and Jaland Lowe added 10, but senior forward Blake Hinson was held to 11 points — eight below his average — on 4-of-16 shooting as Pitt lost its second straight.
UNC visits No. 16 Clemson on Saturday.
No. 14 Duke 86, Syracuse 66
DURHAM — Mark Mitchell scored 18 of his career-high 21 points in the first half and Jared McCain finished with 18 points to lead No. 14 Duke over Syracuse 86-66 on Tuesday night.
Duke made all eight 3-point attempts after halftime and finished by shooting 75% from the field in the second half.
The Blue Devils have made at least one 3-point shot in every game for nearly 34 years.
The latest burst of 3s came at a good time.
“It got us going,” Mitchell said. “Obviously, we have some lethal shooters. It was the law of averages that we’d make some.”
Jeremy Roach’s 17 points and Tyrese Proctor’s 14 points were a boost from Duke’s backcourt. Kyle Filipowski posted all 12 of his points in the second half as the Blue Devils (10-3, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) increased their winning streak to five games.
It was a huge turnaround in shooting after halftime. The Blue Devils were 0-for-9 on first-half 3s, then built a double-digit lead by hitting seven in a row.
“We talked about not making any 3s,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “I thought we missed maybe three or four that were good ones. We do make open shots, so just let it come.”
Maliq Brown had 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting and Judah Mintz added 18 points for Syracuse (10-4, 1-2), which was 4-for-16 on 3-pointers and committed 17 turnovers as a five-game winning streak was halted.
Duke visits Notre Dame on Saturday.
No. 17 Florida Atlantic 79, East Carolina 64
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Florida Atlantic saved its best for the end of its American Athletic Conference debut.
Johnell Davis and Alijah Martin each scored 20 points and No. 17 FAU used a 14-0 run in the closing minutes to finish off a 79-64 win over East Carolina on Tuesday night.
Bryan Greenlee scored 13 off the bench and Vladislav Goldin finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Owls (11-3, 1-0). The big run at the end turned a two-point edge into a 16-point lead.
“Nice to get back home and start conference play, begin a new chapter in the American Athletic Conference and start off the right way,” FAU coach Dusty May said. “I thought our guys stayed the course. It was a back-and-forth game.”
It was, until it wasn’t. The late spurt turned a nailbiter into what looked like a runaway, even though East Carolina either led or was tied for half the game.
Brandon Johnson scored 15 for East Carolina (7-7, 0-1), while Quentin Diboundje added 13 before departing with a lower extremity injury with 5:31 remaining. RJ Felton had 12 for the Pirates, who missed their last eight shots.
East Carolina has now lost 75 of its last 78 games against ranked opponents — and is 0-57 in such games on the road.
“We were there. We put ourselves in position,” East Carolina coach Michael Schwartz said. “I thought for 35 minutes we executed what we tried to execute. And we saw all game what an elite team they are, but in the last five, six minutes … they exploded like a volcano. They just erupted and you can see the speed and just how dynamic they are on offense.”
East Carolina hosts Tulsa on Sunday, while Florida Atlantic visits Charlotte on Saturday.
Wake Forest 84, Boston College 78
BOSTON — Hunter Sallis scored 21 points, Andrew Carr made a 3-pointer with 11.5 seconds left and Wake Forest beat Boston College 84-78 on Tuesday night.
Wake Forest (10-3, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) has won eight straight for the first time since winning 16 in a row in the 2008-09 season.
Wake Forest led 77-67 with 3:24 left. But Claudell Harris Jr. scored 10 of Boston College’s next 11 points, capped by a jumper from the free-throw line with 1:07 left to get the Eagles within 79-78.
Kevin Miller dribbled down the clock and drew the attention of three defenders in the lane before passing it out to a wide-open Carr in the corner for a 3-pointer. Cameron Hildreth sealed it by stealing Boston College’s inbound pass and making a layup with 9.3 seconds left.
Boston College (9-4, 0-2), which led 40-36 at the break, had won its last 19 games when leading at halftime. The Eagles had also scored 80-plus points in four straight games.
Hildreth finished with 18 points and Miller had 17 points and seven assists for Wake Forest. Efton Reid III had 13 points and 13 rebounds. Carr was 1 of 4 from the field with seven rebounds and four assists.
Miller made a jumper from the free-throw line with 17:26 left in the second half to give Wake Forest its first lead, 44-43, since it was 12-11.
Quinten Post scored 20 points for Boston College. Devin McGlockton and Harris, who was coming off a season-high 29-point performance with seven 3-pointers, each added 15 points.
Wake Forest returns home for a matchup against Miami on Saturday.
