Bacot, UNC beat Notre Dame 101-59, advance to ACC quarters

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Big men Armando Bacot and freshmen Day'Ron Sharpe and Walker Kessler each had a double-double and North Carolina dominated inside in its 101-59 win over Notre Dame on Wednesday night at the ACC tournament.

No. 6 seed UNC (17-9) plays third-seeded Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals Thursday.

Bacot, a 6-foot-10 sophomore, finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Kessler added 16 points and a career-best 12 rebounds and Sharpe had 14 points, 10 boards and a career-high six assists. Kessler added eight blocks, the most by a UNC freshman in program history and an ACC tourney single-game record.

Sharpe made three baskets in a 49-second span to make it 9-5 and the Tar Heels led the rest of the way. A 9-0 run pushed the lead into double figures for good midway through the first half and North Carolina scored 22 consecutive points during a 52-4 run that made it 101-51 with 2:65 remaining.

Prentiss Hubb and Nate Laszewski scored 13 points apiece for No. 11 seed Notre Dame (11-15).

North Carolina shot 51% from the field and had its highest-scoring game since the 2018-19 season, when the Tar Heels topped the 100-point plateau six times.

UNC outrebounded the Fighting Irish 54-31, scored 25 second-chance points off 27 offensive rebounds, and outscored Notre Dame 56-20 inside. The Tar Heels finished with a season-high 12 blocks.

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