National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Carolina 79, Maryland 68
When: 7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Where: Comcast Center, College Park, Maryland
Officials: # Mike Eades, # Joe Lindsay, # Doug Sirmons
Attendance: 17950

North Carolina 79, Maryland 68: P.J. Hairston scored 22 points and Reggie Bullock hit four 3-pointers as the visiting Tar Heels extended their winning streak to six with a win over the Terrapins.

Bullock finished with 19 points and 12 rebounds for North Carolina (22-8, 12-5 ACC), which clinched a first-round bye for next week’s ACC tournament. The Tar Heels host fourth-ranked Duke on Saturday, trailing the Blue Devils by one game for second place in the conference.

Dez Wells scored 18 points to lead Maryland (20-10, 8-9), which trailed by 16 points but pulled within 63-57 on Nick Faust’s 3-pointer with 6:11 left. Marcus Paige answered with his own 3-pointer to ignite a quick 6-0 burst that helped North Carolina put away the game.

The Tar Heels won in large part due to their accurate 3-point shooting and how well they defended Maryland on the perimeter. North Carolina finished 10-for-24 from 3-point range and held the Terrapins to 3-for-23 from beyond the arc.

North Carolina scored the final 10 points of the first half, taking a 34-27 lead at intermission. The Tar Heels extended their lead to as many as 16 points in the second half and led 61-46 on a Bullock 3-pointer with 7:33 left, before Maryland’s pressure defense briefly cut the lead to six.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Bullock scored a career-high 24 points against the Terrapins on Jan. 19. He has made at least three 3-pointers in four of his past five games. ... Faust finished with 16 points for Maryland, which has lost four of its past seven games. … North Carolina has beaten Maryland six consecutive times.
Top Game Performances
 
North Carolina   Maryland
P.J. Hairston 22 Scoring Dezmine Wells 18
Dexter Strickland 6 Assists Seth Allen 2
Reggie Bullock 12 Rebounds Alex Len 7
P.J. Hairston 6 Free Throws Made Dezmine Wells 5
Reggie Bullock 3 Steals Dezmine Wells 3
Desmond Hubert 2 Blocks Dezmine Wells 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
North Carolina 79 45.5 10-24 19-24 13 32 4 11 12
Maryland 68 42.9 3-23 11-15 9 33 4 7 14