RALEIGH -- For every push in Wednesday's basketball game between North Carolina and N.C. State, there was a pull. For every jab, a counter-punch.
In the end, No. 19 UNC was left standing after an old-fashioned ACC fight. The Tar Heels flexed their muscle and found a way to beat the Wolfpack for the 10th straight time, 75-63 at an amped-up RBC Center.
Harrison Barnes' back-to-back dunks in the final 4 minutes closed out a desperate N.C. State team, which played with an intensity and consistent defensive pressure that had been missing in the rivals' first meeting, a 20-point loss at UNC on Jan. 29.
With 16 points from Barnes, and another dominant defensive effort from forward John Henson (six blocks, 15 rebounds), UNC (21-6, 11-2 ACC) passed last year's NIT-inflated win total with three regular-season games left.
The game looked like a fight and it felt like one, UNC forward Tyler Zeller said.
"Sometimes it did," said Zeller, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. "It was a physical game and the refs let us do it. This team does a great job of staying composed and we kept going."
The Wolfpack, which has lost 16 of 17 to UNC coach Roy Williams, dropped to 4-9 in the ACC and 14-13 overall. It was not for a lack of effort.
"We certainly played hard enough," State coach Sidney Lowe said. "We really fought. We have to play smarter."
Zeller spent almost as much time on the floor as the ACC logo in the lane. N.C. State's big men battered and contested every one of UNC's leading scorer's moves.
That left real estate for Barnes, who had a breakout game against the Wolfpack last time with 25 points, and buried them again.
Barnes followed a Henson miss at 4:09 and a Dexter Strickland miss at 3:42 with dunks for a 64-56 UNC lead.
Barnes started the game 0-for-6 but finished 6-of-17 and scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the second half.
In two games against State, Barnes averages 20.5 points; against the rest of the ACC he averages 14.2. He didn't have an explanation for his elevated play against the Wolfpack.
"I don't know, I'm just playing the game of basketball," Barnes said.
After a 3-pointer from forward C.J. Leslie, who led State with 13 points, cut UNC's lead to 64-59, Barnes provided the dagger with a 3-pointer from the left elbow at 1:56 for a 67-59 advantage.
Within 35 seconds, Lowe protested a Michael Stephens call and picked up his first technical foul in four seasons and the UNC fans among the sellout crowd of 19,700 at the RBC Center started a "Tar Heels" chant.
N.C. State, which never led in the meeting in Chapel Hill, led by as many as 10 points in the first half.
Javier Gonzalez's 3-pointer at 11:03 put the Pack up 19-9. The Tar Heels quickly responded with an 8-0 run.
The Heels got a four-point possession after a hard, intentional foul by Scott Wood on Barnes at 6:10 in the first half. Barnes made both of his free throws and Zeller followed with two of his own after drawing a foul at 5:54.
Kendall Marshall's 3 with 53.5 seconds left gave UNC the 31-29 advantage going into the break. UNC extended its lead to nine points before State tied it at 50.
The teams went back and forth before a pivotal block by Henson, of a Leslie drive, kick-started a break that ended with Barnes' first follow dunk.
Barnes' next dunk and 3 came in rapid-fire succession to finish off the Wolfpack.
North Carolina 75, N.C. State 63
UNC | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Strickland | 34 | 5-8 | 2-2 | 1-3 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
Marshall | 33 | 5-12 | 3-4 | 0-1 | 5 | 1 | 14 |
Henson | 33 | 3-7 | 2-2 | 4-15 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
Barnes | 30 | 6-17 | 2-2 | 3-8 | 0 | 1 | 16 |
Zeller | 25 | 4-9 | 3-4 | 4-9 | 0 | 4 | 11 |
McDonald | 12 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Watts | 2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Knox | 19 | 2-4 | 0-1 | 2-4 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
Bullock | 12 | 1-5 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
Totals | 200 | 28-66 | 14-18 | 19-47 | 9 | 12 | 75 |
Percentages: FG .424, FT .778. Three-point goals: 5-16, .313 (Barnes 2-7, McDonald 1-2, Strickland 1-2, Marshall 1-3, Bullock 0-1, Henson 0-1). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 7 (Henson 6, Zeller). Turnovers: 11 (Marshall 5, Henson 2, McDonald 2, Knox, Barnes). Steals: 6 (Strickland 2, Zeller 2, Marshall, McDonald). Technical fouls: none.
N.C. State | Min | FG-A | FT-A | OR-TR | A | PF | PT |
Brown | 34 | 5-11 | 1-3 | 1-5 | 8 | 4 | 11 |
Leslie | 32 | 6-15 | 0-1 | 4-8 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
Harrow | 29 | 4-10 | 0-2 | 2-2 | 4 | 0 | 8 |
Wood | 22 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
T Smith | 33 | 5-12 | 2-3 | 1-7 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
Gonzalez | 14 | 2-4 | 1-1 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
Vandenberg | 15 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 2-3 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
Williams | 21 | 3-7 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
Totals | 200 | 28-65 | 4-10 | 12-33 | 17 | 17 | 63 |
Percentages: FG .431, FT .400. Three-point goals: 3-14, .214 (Gonzalez 1-2, Wood 1-2, Leslie 1-3, Williams 0-2, Harrow 0-2, Brown 0-3). Team rebounds: 4. Blocked shots: 4 (Vandenberg 3, T. Smith). Turnovers: 10 (Brown 3, Leslie 2, Harrow, Wood, T. Smith, Gonzalez, Vandenberg). Steals: 7 (Brown 3, Harrow 2, Gonzalez, T. Smith). Technical fouls : Bench.
North Carolina | 31 | 44 | - | 75 |
N.C. State | 29 | 34 | - | 63 |
Att.-19,700. Officials-Mike Kitts, Michael Stephens, Sean Corbin.
