National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Carolina 90, Lehigh 68
When: 2:00 PM ET, Sunday, November 12, 2023
Where: Dean E. Smith Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Officials: # Doug Simons, # Ron Groover, # Lee Cassell
Attendance: 18608

Armando Bacot collected 22 points and 20 rebounds and teammate RJ Davis added 22 points to propel No. 19 North Carolina past visiting Lehigh 90-68 on Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill, N.C.

It marked the third career game reaching the 20-20 level for Bacot, a 6-foot-11 forward in his fifth season. It was his seventh game with at least 20 rebounds. He sat out the final four minutes after North Carolina established a comfortable margin.

Harrison Ingram gave the Tar Heels (2-0) a boost with 14 points.

Keith Higgins Jr. scored 14 of his 16 points in the first half for Lehigh (0-3). Tyler Whitney-Sidney added 10 points.

North Carolina's 15-point lead from the first half dipped to 53-50 in the second half before the Tar Heels rattled off the next nine points in what began a 14-2 burst. Lehigh went almost three minutes without scoring after closing the gap.

Ingram posted five straight North Carolina points as the margin grew to 67-52.

North Carolina shot 46.3 percent from the field despite going 5-for-17 on 3-pointers. Bacot shot 8-for-14 from the field and went 6-for-6 on free throws. Davis was good on 3-of-6 attempts on 3-pointers.

Bacot set the North Carolina career record with 487 offensive rebounds, grabbing six Sunday.

The Tar Heels outscored Lehigh 23-3 on free throws. North Carolina also finished with a 52-31 rebounding edge.

North Carolina had its first double-figure lead at 25-15 when Bacot converted on his second three-point play of the game with more than 8 1/2 minutes left in the first half. Lehigh was amid a stretch of more than seven minutes without a field goal.

Davis drained 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to push the Tar Heels' advantage to 33-18.

Higgins shot 5-for-8 in the first 16 minutes half, while the rest of the Mountain Hawks were a combined 3-for-19.

Lehigh, playing less than two days after losing Friday night at Penn State, shot 36.6 from the field.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Lehigh   North Carolina
Keith Higgins Jr. 16 Scoring Armando Bacot 22
Keith Higgins Jr. 3 Assists Cormac Ryan 3
Dominic Parolin 5 Rebounds Armando Bacot 20
Bube Momah 2 Free Throws Made Armando Bacot 6
Keith Higgins Jr. 2 Steals RJ Davis 3
Henri Adiassa 1 Blocks Armando Bacot 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Lehigh 68 36.6 13-33 3-4 15 28 3 7 11
North Carolina 90 46.3 5-17 23-28 11 50 3 9 10