North Carolina freshman Ian Jackson, playing in his hometown, poured in a season-high 24 points and RJ Davis made the go-ahead free throw as the Tar Heels rallied past No. 18 UCLA to win 76-74 on Saturday afternoon at the CBS Sports Classic in New York City.North Carolina (7-5) overcame a 16-point deficit and led just twice – after the game’s first basket and after Davis’s free throw with 13 seconds left – to defeat a ranked opponent for the first time in five tries this season.Davis finished with 17 points, while Seth Trimble had 12 points and helped force a key turnover in the final minute.Tyler Bilodeau racked up a season-high 26 points, Sebastian Mack scored 22 and Skyy Clark had nine points and four assists for the Bruins (10-2).Mack’s potential winning shot in the final seconds was off the mark before Drake Powell secured the rebound for the Tar Heels and made a free throw to seal the win. UCLA was 13-for-22 on free throws, while North Carolina hit 24 of 35 of its attempts at the line.The Tar Heels trailed 59-43 with 12:50 remaining but pulled within 66-65 to set up a tussle over the last 5 1/2 minutes.North Carolina pulled even at 72 with 1:32 left on Jalen Washington’s second-chance layup after Bilodeau split a pair of free throws on the Bruins’ previous possession.Mack sank two foul shots to put UCLA back ahead, and the Tar Heels still trailed 74-73 after Davis went 1-of-2 at the stripe with 22 seconds to go.
North Carolina overcomes 16-point deficit to clip No. 18 UCLA
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