National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Carolina 103, Virginia Tech 82
When: 7:00 PM ET, Monday, January 21, 2019
Where: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Officials: # Doug Shows, # Terry Wymer, # John Higgins
Attendance: 21148

Freshman guard Coby White finished with 27 points as No. 11 North Carolina rode a 20-0 first-half run in toppling No. 10 Virginia Tech 103-82 on Monday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.

North Carolina made a season-high 16 shots from 3-point range, including 14 of 18 during one stretch. That came after the Tar Heels missed their first 11 long-range attempts. Nassir Little's 23 points off the bench led a strong supporting effort for North Carolina, which included 14 points from Luke Maye, 12 from Garrison Brooks and 10 from Kenny Williams (all in the second half).

North Carolina (15-4, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) holds sole possession of first place in the ACC.

Ahmed Hill scored 20 points, Kerry Blackshear Jr. and Nickeil Alexander-Walker each had 19 points, and Justin Robinson added 17 for Virginia Tech (15-3, 4-2), which gave up 20 more points than it had in any other game this season.

It marked the first time the Hokies were ranked for a matchup with North Carolina. The Tar Heels improved to 10-9 under coach Roy Williams when facing a higher-ranked ACC opponent at home.

North Carolina led 45-31 at halftime, boosted by a combined 24 points from White and Brooks along with Virginia Tech's 12 turnovers.

Earlier, Virginia Tech hit a barrage of 3-poiners for a 19-11 lead before the first media timeout.

Brooks scored eight of North Carolina's first 13 points.

The Hokies were 6-for-7 on 3s and held a 22-13 lead about eight minutes into the game. That was a contrast to last week's loss at Virginia, when Virginia Tech had 22 first-half points.

Robinson, though, picked up his third foul on a charge at the 9:52 mark, in the midst of a three-minute field-goal drought for both teams.

Later, White canned consecutive threes to give North Carolina its first lead at 31-29 with 3:52 left in the half. His third 3-pointer of the period made it 39-29, and Brooks' three-point play and Johnson's 3 capped a 20-0 run. Blackshear's tip-in on Virginia Tech's final possession of the half ended the streak and made it 45-31 at the half.

Virginia Tech won the lone meeting last season with the Tar Heels, 80-69.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Virginia Tech   North Carolina
Ahmed Hill 20 Scoring Coby White 27
Justin Robinson 6 Assists Coby White 6
Kerry Blackshear Jr. 17 Rebounds Coby White 7
Kerry Blackshear Jr. 7 Free Throws Made Nassir Little 7
Nickeil Alexander-Walker 3 Steals Coby White 4
Kerry Blackshear Jr. 1 Blocks Luke Maye 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Virginia Tech 82 44.3 13-28 15-16 21 30 1 8 16
North Carolina 103 53.7 16-34 15-17 25 32 2 9 13