It was billed as a showdown between rivals North Carolina and NC State, but about midway through the first half, North Carolina took out the drama with a run leading to a fourteen point lead at halftime, and then as much as a thirty point lead in the second half, before the Tar Heels coasted to a 74-55 victory in Chapel Hill.  Tyler Zeller had 21 points and 17 rebounds to lead Carolina, and Harrison Barnes added fifteen.  It was the 11th straight win over NC State in head to head competition that dates back to 2007.  Scott Woods had eleven points to lead the Wolfpack..With the win, UNC is now 17-3 overall, 4-1 in the ACC.  State dropped to 15-6 overall, 4-2 in the conference.  State hosts Virginia Saturday, while Carolina hosts Georgia Tech on Sunday (5:00PM airtime Newsradio 1490)

Also Thursday night Virginia bolted past Boston College in Charlottesville 66-49.  The Cavaliers had a 22-3 run after being tied 44-44.  Mike Scott had eighteen points to lead Virginia.  Virginia improved to 16-3 overall, 3-2 in the ACC.

Also in the Carolina’s Scoreboard:  Shaw (Ranked 17th in Division Two), was just able to get past Livingstone in Raleight 80-77 in overtime.  Greg Henry had nineteen points and six rebounds for the Blue Bears, who dropped to 4-10 overall, 1-7 in the CIAA.  Other scores included:  Belmont Abbey 82 North Greenville 71, Coastal Carolina 52 Presbyterian 49, Gardner Webb 78 Campbell 72, UNC-Asheville 90 High Point 70, Winthrop 65 Liberty 63, UNC-GReensboro 77 Appalachian State 73 (OT), Davidson 64 Chattanooga 63, Elon 71 Western Carolina 63.