By R.L. Bynum

CHAPEL HILL — Carolina was in a fight with Pittsburgh, and at times it seemed like an actual fight, with physical play, words exchanged and apparent vitriol between the teams.

The Tar Heels just didn’t have enough fight at the end, with failures at the free throw line and from 3-point range as well as empty possessions in the final minutes too much to overcome.

Pittsburgh (17–7, 9–3 ACC) finished off a season sweep of UNC with a 65–64 win on Tuesday for the Panthers’ third consecutive victory in the Smith Center and third win in a row over Carolina.

“It’s a physical game every time we play them,” said Caleb Love, who scored a game-high 22 points, after the Heels’ four-game win streak ended. “That’s who we are; that’s who they are. It got chippy a little bit, but that’s part of the game. We’ve been in plenty of games like that. That’s not our first one.”

Love said there was plenty of talk back and forth the entire game. But the Tar Heels (15–7, 7–4) could have easily won if they didn’t shoot 13 of 22 from the free-throw line, including some key misses down the stretch. Love was made 4 of 11 3-point attempts and the rest of the team was 1 of 16.

“We weren’t disciplined enough to win the game,” said Carolina coach Hubert Davis, adding that his team wasn’t tough enough, didn’t shoot well enough or play defense well enough to win the game. “We had a one-point lead and the ball and two straight possessions. We turned the ball over and didn’t get a shot, and put them on the free throw line.”

Jamarius Burton, who scored 31 points in the Panthers’ 76–74 victory in Pittsburgh on Dec. 30, hit two free throws with 3.4 seconds left to finish with 19 points. Carolina tried to replicate the sequence that led to Pete Nance forcing overtime against Ohio State, but couldn’t execute this time.

“It was supposed to be similar to what we ran against Ohio State, and they kind of took it away,” Love said. “The second option was for me to come off a screen from Mondo [Armando Bacot].”

Love, who had his best scoring game since also scoring 22 against the Buckeyes on Dec. 16, couldn’t get off a shot at the buzzer as Nike Sibande appeared to foul him on the arm.

“I feel like I kind of got fouled, but that’s basketball, and they didn’t call it,” said Love, who confirmed that Sibande hit him in the arm.

Love’s 3-pointer with 3:49 left capped a 9–2 run to tie it at 61. Two Bacot free throws put UNC up 64–63 with 1:07 remaining. But Bacot walked when Pitt trapped him along the baseline with 27 seconds left. Burton’s game-winning free throws came on the ensuing possession.

Pittsburgh’s packed-in defense, led by Federiko Federiko, held Bacot in check for much of the game and made it difficult for him to get in position inside. To make matters worse, Bacot had to deal with foul trouble.

“They did a really good job of being physical with him early,” Coach Davis said.

The Panthers’ double-teams collapsed on Bacot all night, including on that key empty possession when UNC led by a point in the final minute.

“They did a good job of trapping the box,” said Bacot, who had 15 points and 11 rebounds. “They just kept throwing bodies at me and also just putting me in a lot of movements, too. I guess you could say they kind of wore me down. But I think the real story is I just didn’t play good.”

With a finger on his shooting hand taped, RJ Davis went through his worst shooting games of the season, going 3 of 15 from the floor and missing all six 3-point attempts with eight points and three assists. His previous worst was 4 of 13 against Gardner-Webb.

Coach Davis was asked if the issue with his finger affected the shooting of RJ Davis, who wasn’t available to the media after the game.

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“That’s a great question,” Coach Davis said. “I felt like a number of his looks were wide open. Those are shots that, over the last two and a half months — really throughout his career — he’s making. He missed two free throws and, statistically, he’s the best free-throw shooter in the conference.”

Love scored nine of Carolina’s first 17 points, giving UNC a 17–11 lead on a 3-point play with 12:30 left in the first half after making his first two 3-point attempts. Pitt responded with an 8–2 run to go up 23–19 on a Burton free throw with 6:23 left.

Bacot didn’t score until his free throw with 5:06 left in the first half, but scored Carolina’s next six points to give UNC a 28–26 lead 83 seconds later. Pitt took a 34–33 halftime lead on a Sibande inside bucket with 20 seconds left.

In the first half, Love (13 points) and Nance (9 of his 13 points) carried UNC, combining to go 8 of 19 from the floor while the rest of the team went 3 of 17.

Pitt took a five-point lead early in the second half but Carolina went on a 13–2 run to go up by six on a Nance layup with 12:50 left. Three Nelly Cummings 3-pointers fueled a 15–2 Pitt run to give the Panthers a 55–48 advantage.

Cummings led Pitt with 21 points before fouling out with 1:47 left.

NOTES — Duke (16–6, 7–4) takes a two-game win streak into Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. game in Durham (ESPN) after edging Wake Forest 75–73 on Tuesday night. Junior guard Jeremy Roach is the only Blue Devil who played against UNC last season. … Puff Johnson missed his third consecutive game with a sore right knee. … During a first-half timeout, UNC honored the reigning national champion women’s lacrosse team, which went undefeated last season and is the preseason No. 1 team. … Carolina has a 15–8 series edge against Pittsburgh, a 7–3 advantage in Chapel Hill and 6–3 edge in the Smith Center.

Pitt 65, UNC 64

UNC lineup combinations

Score	Time	1	2	3	4	5	Segment score
Starters	20:00	Davis	Love	Black	Nance	Bacot	14–11
14–11	12:42			Dunn		Washington	3–1
17–12	11:39			Trimble			2–1
19–13	10:05				Black	Bacot	1–5
19–18	7:40	Love	Trimble	Black	Nance		0–4
19–22	6:23		Nickel				5–4
24–26	4:22	Davis					6–4
30–30	1:30		Love				1–1
31–31	1:02			Nickel			2–3
33–34	Half			Black			4–4
38–37	16:05			Dunn			10–18
48–55	9:49				Black	Nance	2–0
50–55	8:11			Styles			0–2
50–57	7:32			Black	Nance	Bacot	14–8
64–65	Final

ACC standings

Team	League	Overall
No. 16 Miami	15–5	24–6
No. 13 Virginia	15–5	23–6
Duke	14–6	23–8
Clemson	14–6	22–9
No. 25 Pittsburgh	14–6	21–10
N.C. State	12–8	22–9
North Carolina	11–9	19–12
Syracuse	10–10	17–14
Wake Forest	10–10	18–13
Boston College	9–11	15–16
Virginia Tech	8–12	18–13
Florida State	7–13	9–22
Georgia Tech	6–14	14–17
Notre Dame	3–17	11–20
Louisville	2–18	4–27

Saturday’s games
Duke 62, North Carolina 57
No. 13 Virginia 75, Louisville 60
Georgia Tech 73, Boston College 65
Virginia Tech 82, Florida State 60
Syracuse 72, Wake Forest 63
No. 26 Miami 78, No. 25 Pittsburgh 76
Clemson 87, Notre Dame 64
End of regular season

UNC statistics

Date	Month/day	Time/score	Opponent/event (current ranking)	Location	Record
	October
28	Friday	W, 101–40	Johnson C. Smith	Home	Exhibition
	November
7	Monday	W, 69–56	UNCW	Home	1–0
11	Friday	W, 102–86	College of Charleston	Home	2–0
15	Tuesday	W, 72–66	Gardner-Webb	Home	3–0
20	Sunday	W, 80–64	James Madison	Home	4–0
			Phil Knight Invitational
24	Thursday	W, 89–81	First round: Portland	Portland	5–0
25	Friday	L, 70–65	Semifinals: Iowa State	Portland	5–1
27	Sunday	L, 103–101, 4 OTs	Consolation: No. 1 Alabama	Portland	5–2
			ACC/Big Ten Challenge
30	Wednesday	L, 77–65	No. 21 Indiana	Bloomington, Ind.	5–3
	December
4	Sunday	L, 80–72	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Va.	5–4, 0–1 ACC
10	Saturday	W, 75–59	Georgia Tech	Home	6–4, 1–1 ACC
13	Tuesday	W, 100–67	The Citadel	Home	7–4
			*CBS Sports Classic*
17	Saturday	W, 89–84, OT	Ohio State	New York	8–4
			*Jumpman Invitational*
21	Wednesday	W, 80–76	Michigan	Charlotte	9–4
30	Friday	L, 76–74	Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh	9–5, 1–2 ACC
	January
4	Wednesday	W, 88–79	Wake Forest	Home	10–5, 2–2 ACC
7	Saturday	W, 81–64	Notre Dame	Home	11–5, 3–2 ACC
10	Tuesday	L, 65–58	No. 14 Virginia	Charlottesville	11–6, 3–3 ACC
14	Saturday	W, 80–59	Louisville	Louisville, Ky.	12–6, 4–3 ACC
17	Tuesday	W, 72–64	Boston College	Home	13–6, 5–3 ACC
21	Saturday	W, 80–69	N.C. State	Home	14–6, 6–3 ACC
24	Tuesday	W, 72–68	Syracuse	Syracuse, N.Y.	15–6, 7–3 ACC
	February
1	Wednesday	L, 65–64	Pittsburgh	Home	15–7, 7–4 ACC
4	Saturday	L, 63–57	No. 12 Duke	Durham	15–8, 7–5 ACC
7	Tuesday	L, 92–85	Wake Forest	Winston-Salem	15–9, 7–6 ACC
11	Saturday	W, 91–71	Clemson	Home	16–9, 8–6 ACC
13	Monday	L, 80–72	No. 16 Miami	Home	16–10, 8–7 ACC
19	Sunday	L, 77–69	N.C. State	Raleigh	16–11, 8–8 ACC
22	Wednesday	W, 63–59	Notre Dame	South Bend, Ind.	17–11, 9–8 ACC
25	Saturday	W, 71–63	No. 14 Virginia	Home	18–11, 10–8 ACC
27	Monday	W, 77–66	Florida State	Tallahassee, Fla.	19–11, 11–8 ACC
	March
4	Saturday	L, 62–57	No. 12 Duke	Home	19–12, 11–9 ACC
			*ACC tournament*
8	Wednesday	W, 85–61	Boston College	Greensboro	20–12
9	Thursday	L, 68–59	No. 14 Virginia	Greensboro	20–13