Johnson scores 39 to lead No. 6 UNC past Florida State

Published 9:40 pm Monday, January 4, 2016

By JOE REEDY Associated Press

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Brice Johnson had career-highs of 39 points and 23 rebounds to lead No. 6 North Carolina to a 106-90 victory against Florida State on Monday night.

It was the first 30-point, 20-rebound game in North Carolina history and it was the first 20-20 game for a Tar Heel since Tyler Zeller had 20 points and 22 rebounds against Ohio in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Marcus Paige added 30 points for the Tar Heels (14-2, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who have won seven straight. It was North Carolina’s first win on the road.

It was the first time North Carolina scored over 100 points on the road since Feb. 1, 2011, against Boston College.

Xavier Rathan-Mayes led Florida State with a season-high 30 points while Dwayne Bacon added 18 and Malik Beasley 15. After winning six straight, the Seminoles (10-4, 0-2) have lost two in a row.

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Florida State trailed 19-5 with 13:52 remaining in the first half but fought its way back to trail 41-37 at halftime.

The Seminoles took a 56-55 lead early in the second half on a layup by Malik Beasley but the Tar Heels followed that up with a 15-6 run as Johnson scored nine straight points.

KEY RUN

After Florida State got within 74-70 on a 3 by Devon Bookert, North Carolina went on an 11-2 run to put it out of reach. Paige scored six points, including a 3-pointer, to give the Tar Heels an 89-76 lead with 7:01 remaining.

TIP-INS

UNC: North Carolina had 50 rebounds, 18 on the offensive end, and had a 50-30 advantage on points in the paint. … The Tar Heels have won six straight over the Seminoles. … North Carolina started off the game by hitting 8 of its first 14 shots from the field.

Florida State: It is the fifth time that Rathan-Mayes has scored 30 points or more. Two have come against North Carolina, including 35 points last season in a game at the Smith Center.

UP NEXT

UNC is at Syracuse on Saturday

Florida State travels to No. 12 Miami on Saturday

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Follow Joe Reedy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/joereedy and the AP’s college basketball site at http://collegebasketball.ap.org

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