CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Caleb Wilson had 22 points and nine rebounds as No. 14 North Carolina held off Syracuse 87-77 on Monday night after building a 32-point lead midway through the second half.
Syracuse shaved the deficit to six with 42 seconds remaining before the Tar Heels finally closed it out from the free-throw line.
Henri Veesaar added 17 points and 11 boards for his Atlantic Coast Conference-leading 12th double-double. Jonathan Powell scored 12 points and Luka Bogavac had 10 for the Tar Heels (18-4, 6-3), who will carry a four-game winning streak into Saturday’s showdown with No. 4 Duke in Chapel Hill.
Wilson went 6 of 14 from the field and reached 20 points for the 16th time, most by a UNC freshman.
Donnie Freeman finished with 23 points and eight rebounds to lead Syracuse (13-10, 4-6), which lost for the fifth time in six games. Naithan George added 15 points.
The Tar Heels led 72-40 with 9:40 left before Syracuse made it respectable late with an 11-1 run.
Back-to-back 3s by Veesaar and Powell gave UNC its first-double digit lead at 23-12. Syracuse hit seven straight shots to get back within five, but the Tar Heels answered with a 12-0 spurt to open a 46-32 advantage at halftime.
Eighteen of Freeman’s points came in that first half, when the Orange shot 44% but committed nine turnovers.
Syracuse visits No. 18 Virginia on Saturday.
North Carolina hosts No. 4 Duke on Saturday.
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
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