North Carolina Tar Heels vs Duke Blue Devils Box Score on Feb 06, 2021

Caleb Love pumped in 25 points as visiting North Carolina toppled Duke 91-87 on Saturday night at Durham, N.C., in one of the strangest matches in this storied rivalry.

Instead of the frenzied atmosphere normally associated with the country's most high-profile college basketball rivalry, there was a mostly vacant Cameron Indoor Stadium, where fans haven't been permitted to attend all season because of the coronavirus protocols on Duke's campus.

This also was the first time the teams met with neither team holding a national ranking since February 1960. Both teams were coming off losses, so the outcome in their first clash of the season also figured to be crucial in terms of positioning for potential NCAA Tournament bids.

Love, a freshman guard, made 9 of 16 shots from the field to put an imprint on the rivalry in his first time in this matchup. Armando Bacot tallied 16 points and Garrison Brooks, Leaky Black and Kerwin Walton all had 12 points for North Carolina (12-6, 7-4 Atlantic Coast Conference). Day'Ron Sharpe added 11 points.

Jeremy Roach's 16 points, Wendell Moore Jr.'s 15 points and Jalen Johnson's 14 points paced Duke (7-7, 5-5). The Blue Devils also received 11 points apiece DJ Steward and Joey Baker, who had a season-high total.

Duke, which never led in the second half, was within 88-87 on Steward's basket with 17 seconds to play. Leaky Black made the second of a two-shot opportunity from the free-throw line.

With a chance to tie or take the lead, Moore was called for a traveling violation at the 8-second mark. Black converted on two foul shots with 7.2 seconds to go.

The Tar Heels shot uncharacteristically well from 3-point range, hitting 10 of 15 attempts.

Duke's Matthew Hurt, the ACC's second-leading scorer, fouled out with 4:15 with the game knotted at 77-77. He finished with seven points, including the tying bucket.

Walton canned a pair of 3-point shots as the Tar Heels bolted to a 14-5 lead. Brooks had nine points by the time North Carolina extended the edge to 24-14.

Duke's 14-2 spurt created a lead change before North Carolina's 41-39 halftime edge. The Tar Heels, who hit six first-half 3s, were credited with 21 points off 10 Duke turnovers by the break.

--Field Level Media