Marcus Paige scored 16 of his 22 points during a strong second half that lifted 13th-ranked North Carolina to a 93-83 victory over Syracuse in a key ACC battle.
The Tar Heels overcame a season-high 20 turnovers, as well as big performances from the Orange's duo of Trevor Cooney and Rakeem Christmas, to earn their season-high sixth straight win and 11th triumph in their last 12 games.
Those miscues had North Carolina (17-4, 7-1 ACC) down 56-50 with 13 minutes left before Paige, Nate Britt and Kennedy Meeks led an 18-6 run that reversed momentum.
Paige added eight assists and Britt, Meeks and Brice Johnson all finished with 17 points, with Johnson netting all but two after halftime and pulling down 11 rebounds for the game.
Cooney matched a season high with 28 points for Syracuse (14-7, 5-3), which has now dropped three of four following a 4-0 start in ACC play. Christmas grabbed 12 rebounds in addition to tallying 22 points.
[SportsNetwork.com]
