Harrison Ingram leads way as No. 9 North Carolina beats NC State

Harrison Ingram scored a season-high 22 points to help No. 9 North Carolina hold off rival North Carolina State for a 79-70 win on Saturday in Atlantic Coast Conference play at Chapel Hill, N.C.

North Carolina (23-6, 15-3 ACC) was also boosted by Elliott Cadeau's 15 points and seven assists, 14 points from RJ Davis and 13 points from Armando Bacot. Ingram shot 8 of 14 from the floor and also had six rebounds.

NC State (17-12, 9-9) -- which is now 3-5 since the start of February -- squandered a chance to get an elusive Quadrant 1 victory that would have boosted its NCAA Tournament resume. Jayden Taylor had 22 points for the Wolfpack while DJ Horne scored 20.

In a game that featured 13 lead changes, the Wolfpack comfortably led by 10 points in the early moments of the second half after Casey Morsell sank a mid-range jumper.

And then, UNC got hot and NC State went cold. Jumpstarted by a 3-pointer from Cormac Ryan, the Tar Heels broke off an impressive 29-6 run. During that span, Cadeau had five assists as the Heels went ahead by as much 13 points.

After Morsell's bucket to start the half, NC State connected on just three of its next 19 field-goal attempts. And with nine points, four rebounds and three assists, Morsell fouled out with about eight minutes to play. NC State didn't force UNC into a second-half turnover until the 5:40 mark.

NC State managed to roar back and trim the deficit to five points, but never got any closer. The Wolfpack have now lost 11 of their last 13 meetings with the Tar Heels and haven't taken a victory inside the Dean Smith Center since 2018.

UNC shot 23 of 27 from the free throw line while NC State went 11 of 16. The Tar Heels outscored the Wolfpack 32-20 in the paint.