Chucky Hepburn scored 26 points as host Louisville defeated North Carolina 83-70 in an Atlantic Coast Conference matchup on Wednesday night.The host Cardinals (9-5, 2-1 ACC) found themselves in a dogfight with the Tar Heels (8-6, 1-1). Louisville led for most of the contest and were ahead 51-40 less than five minutes into the second half. The Tar Heels tied the game once and were within one point on three occasions, before the Cardinals pulled away in the waning moments.A three-point play by Ian Jackson trimmed Louisville’s lead to 70-69 with 5:09 remaining. Both teams went scoreless over the next 2:10 before Hepburn sank three free throws. That started a 12-0 run for the Cardinals, who secured their third straight victory.Louisville also surpassed its victory total from last season. That 8-24 campaign led to Kenny Payne’s firing as coach, with Pat Kelsey hired from the College of Charleston. Kelsey brought with him an almost entirely new roster for this season, led by Hepburn, a senior point guard who transferred from Wisconsin.Hepburn scored 19 of his points in the second half, including 11 of 14 free throws.North Carolina led just once, 15-14, after Cade Tyson’s 3-pointer with 10:15 remaining in the first half. The Cardinals responded with the next seven points. Louisville led by as many as eight before taking a 37-31 advantage into halftime.