North Carolina wallops Notre Dame, cruises into quarters

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jae’Lyn Withers connected on seven 3-pointers to account for his career-high 21 points and North Carolina rolled to a 76-56 victory against Notre Dame in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament’s second round Wednesday afternoon at Charlotte, N.C.Ven-Allen Lubin provided 17 points and 10 rebounds, and RJ Davis had 13 points for North Carolina, which raced to an early lead and didn’t let up. Withers tied a North Carolina team record for 3-point baskets in the ACC tournament.Fifth-seeded North Carolina (21-12), which has won seven of its last eight games, meets fourth-seeded Wake Forest (21-10) in Thursday afternoon’s quarterfinals.ACC scoring leader Markus Burton scored 11 points for 12th-seeded Notre Dame (15-18).Notre Dame couldn’t generate enough offense to keep pace. The Irish committed only six turnovers but shot 32.3 percent from the floor. That included 6-for-20 on 3-pointers.It marked North Carolina’s 26th consecutive victory when holding an opponent to fewer than 60 points.Withers shot 7-for-10 on 3s. He didn’t attempt a 2-point shot or a free throw, with all nine of his rebounds coming on the defensive end.

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