Even without injured big man Garrison Brooks, North Carolina's bigs dominated the boards while all the Tar Heels got involved in 37-2 run in the second half as Carolina advanced to the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals with a 101-59 victory over Notre Dame. (3/10)

It was the first time a team has eclipsed 100 points in an ACC Tournament game since 1999 while the margin of victory was the second largest in ACC Tourney history.

The three Carolina big men each accomplished a double-double. Armando Bacot led the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds. Day'Ron Sharpe, starting in place of Brooks who is day to day with an turned ankle, scored 14 points, pulled in 10 rebounds and dished out six assists.

But the big story may have been freshman 7-foot-1 big man Walker Kessler who scored 16 points, hauled in 12 rebounds and had eight blocked shots. It's the most blocked shots by a freshman ever in an ACC Tournament game and the second most of any player in an ACC Tournament game.

With Brooks' status in question, UNC coach Roy Williams said he challenged those three post players to be ready to play. "Our big guys hurt 'em early inside," he said. "I love the way all of our big guys played."

He reserved the most praise for Kessler. "He was a big-time player out there tonight," Coach Williams said. "He's worked his butt off."

All the big guys were active and looking to attack the basket. On numerous occasions, Sharpe spun left or right, leaving his defender in the dust, and scoring. He already had 10 points by halftime when the Heels led 50-36.

The Tar Heels got their lead up to 17 points in the first minute of the second half when Caleb Love drained a three. But then the Heels missed six straight shots and seemed to have lost their edge as Notre Dame cut the lead to 12 at 59-47 with more than 15 minutes left. The game still seemed to be in the balance.

But during the first TV timeout of the second half, Coach Williams got on his team a bit and the players responded with certainly one of the greatest runs in Carolina basketball history.

Over the next 11-12 minutes, Carolina had fun, outscoring the Irish 37-2.

Kessler started the run with a baseline hook followed by one of those spinning baskets by Sharpe, who then fought hard inside for a bucket. When Andrew Platek swished a three from in front of the Carolina bench to make it 68-47, the game no longer seemed in doubt.

But the run continued featuring a pair of threes by Anthony Harris, a Kerwin Walton triple and an R.J. Davis three. By the time the run was over, the Heels were up 96-49.

The largest lead came when Davis stole the ball and went in for a dunk that put the Heels over the century mark for a 50-point lead at 101-51.

It was a great contrast from the first time the two teams met this season when Carolina's Leaky Black banked a runner with a few seconds left to give UNC a one-point victory.

North Carolina, which also got 15 points from Love and 14 from Davis, improves to 17-9 and advances to play Virginia Tech, a team it hasn't played this season. The game starts just after 9 p.m.

Box Score

UNC freshman Walker Kessler picked up his first double-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds to go along with eight blocks. (UNC Sports Information photo by Maggie Hobson.)