National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Carolina 63, Virginia 43
When: 9:30 PM ET, Thursday, March 10, 2022
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Officials: # AJ Desai, # Jamie Luckey, # Roger Ayers
Attendance: 17732

North Carolina's Brady Manek outscored Virginia in the first half on the way to 21 points as the No. 25 Tar Heels rolled in a 63-43 victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament quarterfinals Thursday night in New York.

Armando Bacot added 10 points and 11 rebounds for North Carolina, setting the school record for double-doubles in a season with 24. Caleb Love also scored 10 points.

North Carolina (24-8) meets seventh-seeded Virginia Tech, an 87-70 upset winner over second-seeded Notre Dame, in Friday night's second semifinal.

Jaylen Gardner scored 17 points to pace Virginia (19-13).

After appearing in seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments and winning the 2019 edition, it's likely Virginia will miss out on this year's event.

The Cavaliers shot 34.6 percent, including 3-for-11 on 3-pointers. They committed 11 turnovers.

North Carolina led 33-13 at halftime, with Virginia going the last 6:12 without scoring. With 19 points, Manek had more points than the Cavaliers by halftime.

Virginia's first-half points were the lowest total in a half for any team in the ACC tournament in the shot clock era.

Manek had 11 early points -- aided by three 3-point baskets -- as the Tar Heels built a 21-11 lead about 11 minutes into the game.

That early run included a bucket from reserve Justin McKoy, a transfer from Virginia. He hadn't scored since Jan. 24.

When R.J. Davis tipped in his own miss with 5:33 to play in the half, it stretched the lead to 25-13.

Reece Beekman made the only attempted 3-point shot for Virginia across the opening 16 minutes. That was notable because a night earlier the Cavaliers became the first team in history to win an ACC tournament game without connecting on a 3-pointer since the arc was established for the college game.

Entering the season, North Carolina had lost seven straight meetings with Virginia. Coupled with a home win in January, the Tar Heels have won both matchups this season.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Virginia   North Carolina
Jayden Gardner 17 Scoring Brady Manek 21
Reece Beekman 5 Assists RJ Davis 6
Francisco Caffaro 6 Rebounds Armando Bacot 11
Armaan Franklin 3 Free Throws Made Caleb Love 4
Reece Beekman 3 Steals Armando Bacot 3
Reece Beekman 2 Blocks Armando Bacot 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Virginia 43 34.6 3-11 4-9 14 31 6 5 11
North Carolina 63 38.5 6-23 7-9 17 41 3 8 7