BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) Brice Johnson scored 19 points and grabbed 17 rebounds Sunday, leading No. 2 North Carolina over Virginia Tech 75-70 for its 12th straight victory.
North Carolina (18-2, 7-0 ACC) led by as many as 20 in the first half, but the Hokies took a 61-59 lead on a basket by Kerry Blackshear Jr. with 8:05 remaining. It was their only lead of the game.
Seth Allen made two free throws for the Hokies (12-8, 4-3) to pull to 72-70, but Marcus Paige hit two free throws with 17.8 seconds remaining to push the lead back to four.
After Virginia Tech's Justin Bibbs missed a 3-pointer with 8 seconds to go, the Tar Heels' Johnson made one of two free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining for the final margin.
Zach LeDay led the Hokies with 17 points. Jalen Hudson added 14.
