National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Carolina 82, Ohio St. 74
When: 1:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 20, 2014
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Officials: # Roger Ayers, # Doug Shows, # Michael Stephens
Attendance: 6081

No. 24 North Carolina 82, No. 12 Ohio State 74: Brice Johnson collected 18 points and nine rebounds as the Tar Heels took care of the Buckeyes in the opening game of the CBS Sports Classic in Chicago.

Marcus Paige added 16 points and Justin Jackson scored 11 for North Carolina (8-3), which earned its third win over a ranked opponent this season. The Tar Heels went 3-for-13 from 3-point range but made up for it by dominating inside and going 21-for-33 at the foul line.

Marc Loving made five 3-pointers en route to a team-high 19 points to lead Ohio State (9-2). Sam Thompson scored 17 points, D'Angelo Russell added 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and Shannon Scott contributed 10 points, eight assists and six boards.

The Buckeyes led only once — at 2-0 — before the Tar Heels answered with seven straight points and maintained control the rest of the way. J.P. Tokoto's three-point play with 8:08 left in the half pushed the margin to double digits for the first time, and the lead was as large as 16 before North Carolina settled for a 43-31 advantage at the break.

Ohio State pulled within 47-38 on Russell's 3-pointer with 17:57 remaining, but Jackson answered with a jumper at the other end and the margin didn't dip into single digits again until Loving hit a pair of free throws to make it 70-62 with 5:48 left. The Buckeyes missed seven straight field-goal attempts spanning more than seven minutes, though, before Loving hit a pair of 3-pointers to get them within 77-70 with 1:24 remaining.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Tar Heels have won 11 of 13 meetings with Ohio State, including six straight dating to a loss in the 1992 NCAA Tournament. … North Carolina coach Roy Williams improved to 7-0 against the Buckeyes, including four victories with the Tar Heels. … Ohio State C Amir Williams was in foul trouble for most of the first half and finished with one point and three rebounds, but also had four of the Buckeyes' 11 blocked shots.

Top Game Performances
 
Ohio St.   North Carolina
Marc Loving 19 Scoring Brice Johnson 18
Shannon Scott 9 Assists J.P. Tokoto 6
D'Angelo Russell 8 Rebounds Kennedy Meeks 13
Shannon Scott 4 Free Throws Made Marcus Paige 6
D'Angelo Russell 3 Steals J.P. Tokoto 2
Amir Williams 4 Blocks Kennedy Meeks 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Ohio St. 74 34.7 10-29 14-18 17 34 11 6 11
North Carolina 82 44.6 3-13 21-33 23 46 6 5 14