The North Carolina Tar Heels went into JMA Wireless Dome to face off against Syracuse in a Quad 2 ACC contest in a must-win situation. Though the game was full of ups and downs, double-digit leads and two-point leads, they came out on top with a 88-82 victory in a game they led the entire way.
UNC jumped out on Syracuse early on, never looking back and it was refreshing to see. After they had struggles in the first half against opponents this season, they finally got off to a good start and were able to hold it.
The Tar Heels took a 42-34 lead into the halftime break on the back of a massive 16-point performance in the half from Ian Jackson . The freshman guard shot 4-for-6 from behind the arc and 6-for-9 from the field. North Carolina never trailed in this game led by 23 points from Jackson on 8-of-15 from the field with four rebounds.
Outside of Jackson breaking out of his slump, Jae'Lyn Withers was the unsung hero in this game as well. He dropped a season-high with 19 points, six rebounds, and three blocks in the game while shooting 7-of-10.
The efficiency of UNC's shooting in this game is what helped them never trail in this away game. As a team, they shot 46% from three and 49% from the field. Now, their free-throw shooting suffered, as the team was just 68% from the line, but they other efficiency picked up the slack.
On top of efficiency, they turned the ball just nine times, blocked eight shots, and did not get outrebounded in the game overall.
RJ Davis, the team's leading scorer, finished with 16 points, five rebounds, and six assists. The defense held the Orange to three players in double figures, but they were bullied by Eddie Lampkin , who had another double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds.
North Carolina will head back home now after the end of this two-game road stretch and will face off against Raleigh rival NC State at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, February 19th, airing on ESPN.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC basketball picks u road win at Syracuse
