CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Reggie Bullock scored 17 points and North Carolina beat Georgia Tech 79-63 on Wednesday night for its third straight win.
P.J. Hairston had 15 points and James Michael McAdoo added 14 for the Tar Heels (13-5, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).
With former star Rashad McCants watching from behind their bench in a McAdoo jersey, the Tar Heels never trailed and shot nearly 43 percent (30 of 70) to move above .500 in league play for the first time this season.
Kammeon Holsey had 10 of his 18 points in the first half, but the Yellow Jackets (10-7, 0-5) had 19 turnovers and lost their fifth straight to remain the only team winless in ACC play.
Still, they trimmed a 13-point deficit to 36-32 on Solomon Poole’s 3-pointer with 2 minutes left in the half.
Bullock — who had a career-high 24 points last time out against Maryland — started and finished the ensuing 15-2 run with buckets from close range. His no-you-take-it layup from Marcus Paige gave the Tar Heels their largest lead to that point, 49-34, with 17½ minutes to go.
GEORGIA TECH (10-7)
Georges-Hunt 3-10 0-0 6, Carter 3-10 2-2 9, Miller 4-7 0-0 8, Udofia 1-9 1-2 3, Bolden 5-14 0-0 10, Royal 1-1 0-0 3, Poole Jr. 0-2 0-0 0, Reed 1-3 0-0 3, Holsey 8-13 2-2 18, Doyle 0-0 0-0 0, Poole 1-6 0-0 3. Totals 27-75 5-6 63.
NORTH CAROLINA (13-5)
Hubert 0-3 0-1 0, Bullock 7-12 1-1 17, McAdoo 5-13 4-10 14, Strickland 2-5 2-4 6, Paige 1-6 0-0 3, James 2-3 0-0 4, Moody 1-1 0-0 2, Johnson 1-5 2-2 4, Hairston 5-11 2-2 15, Simmons 2-2 2-2 6, Tanner 0-0 0-0 0, Tokoto 4-9 0-0 8, Manor 0-0 0-0 0, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 30-70 13-22 79.
Halftime—UNC 40-32. 3-Point Goals—GT 4-15 (Royal 1-1, Carter 1-2, Reed 1-2, Poole 1-3, Georges-Hunt 0-1, Bolden 0-3, Udofia 0-3); UNC 6-17 (Hairston 3-6, Bullock 2-7, Paige 1-2, Tokoto 0-1, McAdoo 0-1). Fouled Out—Holsey, Poole. Rebounds—GT 50 (Carter 12), UNC 45 (McAdoo 9). Assists—GT (Poole 3), UNC 19 (Paige, Strickland 6). Total Fouls—GT 23, UNC 8. A—19,124.