CHAPEL HILL — Armando Bacot played in his record 162nd ACC game and No. 7 North Carolina overpowered Notre Dame 84-51 on senior night Tuesday to clinch at least a share of the regular-season conference championship.
The fifth-year player who holds the school’s record for career rebounds and double-doubles checked out to a standing ovation with about three minutes remaining.
“He’s been a great leader for us,” RJ Davis, who also might have played his final game at home, said of Bacot. “He’s been dominant throughout his whole career here, breaking records left and right.”
Scoring his last basket at Smith Center on a 3-pointer, Bacot finished the night with 14 points and five rebounds.
“Armando can shoot the 3, and I’ve told him he can shoot it, I just want him to shoot it at the right time,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “He’s so good around the basket, I don’t want him to go away from dominating points in the paint.”
Davis, a fourth-year senior who has a COVID year of eligibility remaining, had 22 points and six assists. He and Cormac Ryan, who had 14 points, exited the court to applause immediately behind Bacot.
Harrison Ingram added 11 points and 14 rebounds for the Tar Heels (24-6, 16-3).
North Carolina’s fifth straight victory clinched at least a share of the program’s 33rd conference title.
Tae Davis led Notre Dame (12-18, 7-12) with 11 points.
Notre Dame didn’t connect on a field goal in the second half until J.R. Konieczny’s layup at the 13:56 mark. North Carolina led by as many as 38 points.
“Congrats to North Carolina,” Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry said. “It was grown men playing against little boys. We got to get better if we want to get to that level.”
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: It’s the first time since the 2018-19 season that the Tar Heels have won at least a share of the ACC crown, and they clinched it by playing some of their best defense of the season. It was the fifth time this year North Carolina held a conference opponent to under 35% shooting from the floor. North Carolina also excelled in transition, turning 12 Notre Dame turnovers into 18 points.
“I thought we were really locked in defensively,” Hubert Davis said. “Our energy, our effort, our attention to detail was really good. I thought we were impactful on the ball.”
UP NEXT
North Carolina: Visits No. 9 Duke on Saturday.
Georgia Tech 70, Wake Forest 69
WINSTON-SALEM — Miles Kelly scored 19 points, Baye Ndongo made a game-winning shot with 0.4 seconds left and Georgia Tech held off Wake Forest for a 70-69 victory on Tuesday night.
Ndongo caught an inbounds pass with 3.8 left and drove to the basket, swishing a high-arching shot from the right side of the lane. Wake Forest turned it over as time ran out for its first loss at home this season.
Georgia Tech (14-16, 7-12 ACC) avenged an 80-51 home loss to Wake Forest on Feb. 6 and has won three straight and four of its last five games.
Kelly was 7-of-11 shooting and made five of Georgia Tech’s 10 3-pointers. Naithan George added 16 points and Tafara Gapare scored 11. Ndongo finished with nine points and 11 rebounds.
Hunter Sallis scored 22 points to lead Wake Forest (18-12, 10-9), which has lost three consecutive and five of its last seven games. Cameron Hildreth added 17 points, Kevin Miller had 12 and Efton Reid III chipped in with 11.
Georgia Tech opened on a 21-4 run. Kelly made four 3-pointers and scored 12 points, and George added 10 points to help the Yellow Jackets build a 40-26 halftime lead. Four others each hit a 3 for the Yellow Jackets as they shot 57% (16 of 28) overall in the first half.
Hildreth scored 11 points during a 15-4 run to pull Wake Forest to 52-51 with 9:11 remaining. Georgia Tech pushed the advantage to 68-60 with 2:12 left, but Reid’s 3-pointer followed by four points from Miller made it 68-67 with 37 seconds left.
Wake Forest took its only lead, 69-68, on a Sallis jumper with 18 seconds left.
Wake Forest hosts Clemson in its regular-season finale on Saturday.
Stetson 83, Queens 71
DELAND, Fla. (AP) — Jalen Blackmon had 21 points and No. 2 seed Stetson beat eighth-seeded Queens 83-71 on Tuesday night in an Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament quarterfinal.
Stetson (20-12) will play No. 10 seed Jacksonville (16-16) in a Thursday quarterfinal.
Blackmon shot 9 for 20, including 1 for 9 from beyond the arc for the Hatters. Aubin Gateretse added 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Stephan D. Swenson had 19 points.
AJ McKee led the way for the Royals (14-19) with 21 points and two steals. BJ McLaurin added 14 points and seven rebounds for Queens. Deyton Albury finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
Stetson carried a slim two-point lead into halftime, as Swenson led the way with 11 points. The Hatters pulled away with a 14-3 run and outscored Queens by 10 points in the second half. Blackmon led with a team-high 13 second-half points.
