North Carolina beat Clemson for the 56th straight time without a loss in Chapel Hill. But it looked in doubt with 12 minutes left and the Tigers trailing by just six until Carolina pulled away with a 25-9 run to win 74-52. (2/18) Click here for a photo gallery.

The Tar Heels worked up a 15-point lead in the first half only to see Clemson trim the margin to nine at the half, 31-22. A 10-4 Clemson run, highlighted by a pair of threes, cut the lead to six at 47-41 with 11:59 to play.

The Tigers had four opportunities to cut further into the lead but they turned it over three times and missed a shot. A nifty spin move by John Henson started the Carolina run and a pair of threes, one by Reggie Bullock and one by Harrison Barnes, ended the 25-9 run as the Heels took a 72-50 lead with just 1:27 to play.

Barnes led four Tar Heels in scoring with 24 points. Tyler Zeller had 14, John Henson added 13 and Bullock contributed 11. The other starter, Marshall Kendall dished out 13 assists.

The Tar Heels shot 49 percent from the floor while holding the Tigers to 37.5 percent. Carolina outrebounded Clemson 39-26 including a 10-4 edge on the offensive boards.

"We've gotten better and better defensively," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "The two things that have been fairly consistent for us over the last five or six games is our play on the defensive end and our play off the offensive backboard."

The Tar Heels only shot six of eight free throws including no attempts in the first half. Coach Williams said it was the first time he could remember one of his teams going an entire half without a free throw.

Carolina, which moves to 23-4 overall and 10-2 in the ACC, plays at N.C. State Tuesday.

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