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UNC Leaves Lexington With Clutch Victory Vs. Kentucky

JeremiahHollowayby: Jeremiah Holloway13 hours agojxholloway

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Derek Dixon’s heroics boosted the Tar Heels in their third ACC/SEC Challenge game. North Carolina improved to 7-1 after defeating No. 18 Kentucky on Tuesday night, defeating the Wildcats 67-64 inside Rupp Arena.

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Henri Veesaar led the Tar Heels with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while his frontcourt partner Caleb Wilson put up another double-double of his own, with 15 points and 12 rebounds, plus six assists.

UNC got 22 second-chance points off of 20 offensive rebounds, outrebounding UK, 41-30. The Wildcats shot 1-of-13 on three-pointers.

North Carolina controlled the boards in the first half, but couldn’t capitalize on those extra opportunities offensively. The Tar Heels shot just 40% from the field in the first 20 minutes, struggling to get going inside on Kentucky’s interior defense. They shot 4-10 on layups in the first half. Turnovers kept UNC from getting an advantage on the road in the first half, as the Wildcats scored 10 points on seven giveaways from the Tar Heels. 

Both teams entered the second half tied at 31, and for most of the half, Kentucky relied on its defense and kept UNC at bay in a low-scoring game for both teams. But a long UK scoring drought later in the half left the door open for North Carolina, as it scored six unanswered points to tie the game at 56 with 3:47 to go.

Dixon came up clutch for the Tar Heels down the stretch. Down by one, he sank a step back 3-pointer to put North Carolina up by two points. After Kentucky answered with a driving layup, he made one of his own out of a timeout to give North Carolina the lead for good.

North Carolina is now 2-1 in ACC/SEC Challenge games. It split its first two appearances in the challenge with a home win against Tennessee and a home loss to Alabama.

Up next for the Tar Heels is a home matchup against the Georgetown Hoyas on Sunday at 5 p.m. inside the Smith Center. This will be the first of a two-game home-and-home series between North Carolina and Georgetown. The Hoyas started the season 5-0 before losing their two most recent games against Dayton and Miami.