So often at PNC Arena, a small run goes a long way for North Carolina.
With the Tar Heels taking the lead midway through the second half, it looked like it would be another Carolina win and another NC State loss in the rivalry.
Jarkel Joiner had another idea.
The sixth-year guard posted a season-high 29 points and put on a game-changing run after the Wolfpack fell behind to lead NC State to a 77-69 win over UNC.
The Tar Heels had won 36 of the previous 41 matchups between the old ACC rivals. Caleb Love’s 3-pointer at 10:23 gave UNC a 54-48 lead. On NC State’s next possession, Casey Morsell missed a 3 and the Wolfpack was just 3 of 16 from the arc.
But like all season, this NC State (21-7) group just kept their heads down and kept playing. DJ Burns scored 18 points while Jack Clark had eight rebounds to help Joiner.
The Ole Miss transfer resulted in a 7-0 run, topped by a 3 from Clark to retake the lead 55-54.
UNC (16-11) has lost five of their last six games and is going into the final two weeks of the regular season on a poor NCAA tournament case. Love led the Heels with 20 points and Armando Bacot added 16 points and 14 rebounds.
It was NC State’s third win over UNC in Kevin Keatt’s six-year tenure and PNC’s second in three seasons.
Keatts had made a playful jab at UNC when asked about the meaning of the win.
“It’s not a rivalry, right? So why should I care?” Keatts said.
The PNC audience also joined in. They sang “NIT” at the Tar Heels in the final seconds of the game.
The two teams were evenly matched for most of the afternoon. After the game was tied at 60-60, Joiner led a 9-0 run. His layup at 4:45 made it 67-60. Then Ernest Ross blocked a layup attempt by Love and Joiner came down on next possession and buried a dagger of a 3 over Pete Nance’s outstretched arm.
Not much separated the teams at halftime. The Wolfpack led 32-31, Bacot led UNC by eight points.
UNC, who started the season at No. 1, has an 0-9 record in Quadrant 1 games, which the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee values most.
The Tar Heels won the first matchup on Jan. 21 with State, 80-69. The season has been rough for UNC since then, with home losses to Pitt and Miami and road losses at Duke and Wake Forest.
The Wolfpack are bolstered in their NCAA resume, which includes a 4-4 record in Q1 games.