Notre Dame 71, North Carolina 70

[January 06, 2015]  No. 12 Notre Dame 71, No. 17 North Carolina 70: Zach Auguste scored 18 points, including the go-ahead bucket with 1:08 remaining, as the visiting Fighting Irish held on for their 11th straight victory.

Pat Connaughton hit four 3-pointers en route to 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Notre Dame (15-1, 3-0 ACC), which improved to 1-3 all-time at North Carolina and won for only the fifth time in 23 meetings. Demetrius Jackson added 15 points and Jerian Gran contributed eight points and eight assists as the Fighting Irish snapped a five-game skid against the Tar Heels.

Marcus Paige scored 15 points to lead North Carolina (11-4, 1-1), which had its five-game winning streak snapped. Kennedy Meeks and J.P. Tokoto added 12 points apiece for the Tar Heels, who were 4-of-16 from 3-point range and couldn't take advantage of a 43-26 edge on the boards.

Auguste scored six straight points for Notre Dame and Connaughton knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Fighting Irish their largest lead at 55-44 with just over 14 minutes left, and it was still an eight-point spread at the six-minute mark before Meeks hit six free throws during a 9-0 run that put the Tar Heels ahead 70-69. Auguste put Notre Dame back on top, and North Carolina missed its final six shots, including Paige's 3-point heave from the left corner at the buzzer.

The Fighting Irish started out red-hot, hitting nine of their first 13 shots to build a 25-15 lead less than nine minutes into the contest. North Carolina climbed within one briefly when Paige finished at the rim to cap a 6-0 run, but Notre Dame led 38-34 at the break.

GAME NOTEBOOK: North Carolina honored alumnus Stuart Scott with a patch on its uniforms and a pregame tribute. Scott, a longtime ESPN anchor, died Sunday at age 49 after a bout with cancer. … Grant, the team's leading scorer, finished 1-of-8 shooting from the field to snap a streak of 17 straight games in double figures. … Notre Dame is off to its first 3-0 start in conference play since joining a league for the first time in the 1995-96 season.

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