North Carolina played to its strength literally and that proved the difference Monday in a 75-65 win in front of 19,533 fans at PNC Arena.

UNC was able to generate momentum and confidence thanks to the one-two punch of junior center Garrison Brooks and freshman power forward Armando Bacot. The Brooks against NC State sophomore forward Jericole Hellems matchup proved troublesome from the start.

Brooks scored 17 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, and the duo combined for 36 points and 22 rebounds in the victory. North Carolina grabbed momentum going into halftime when Bacot made a layup and was fouled, and when he missed the free throw, Brooks grabbed the board and put it in for a 39-35 halftime lead.

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NC State was able to slow the Bacot and Brooks duo down in the second half, and the door was opened for a Wolfpack comeback bid after the Tar Heels ran into some free throw struggles. However, NC State went a miserable 4 of 20 on three-pointers for the game.

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts said Brooks proved to be the difference in light of senior wing Brandon Robinson struggling with injuries and being held to 11 points.

“I thought Garrison Brooks was tremendous tonight,” Keatts said. “I thought he completely kicked our butt. You add in the fact that Armando played well.

“I thought we lost the game with mental and physical toughness inside the paint.”

NC State redshirt junior center D.J. Funderburk did his best with 18 points and eight rebounds in 36:43 minutes. It almost felt like a “pick your poison” scenario on who Funderburk should guard.

“I started on Armando and then I tried to guard both,” Funderburk said. “They are great players and play in the ACC just like us.”

Redshirt freshman center Manny Bates returned to action after a two-game absence due to a head injury, and he blocked five shots in 16:31 minutes. NC State elected not to play senior forward Pat Andree, who has missed the last three games now.

“He’s [Bates] ready to play but he’s not ready to play,” Keatts said. “He is just a shell of himself. He can’t go long stretches.”

UNC out-rebounded NC State 42-31, but points in the paint were surprisingly tied 40-40. The Tar Heels went 17 of 26 on dunks and layups to improve to 10-10 overall and 3-6 ACC.

“It’s just staying locked in and we weren’t focused all the way through,” Funderburk said. “We didn’t stay together the entire time on the court. We let Garrison gets and let Armando get us too.”

Redshirt junior wing Devon Daniels added 17 points and six rebounds and played one of his best games of the season. He said the Wolfpack didn’t compete at the level they needed to.

“They didn’t do anything special, but they just played harder than us,” Daniels said. “I thought we broke down on defense.”

NC State fifth-year senior wing C.J. Bryce has always been able to engineer baskets, but he’s in the worst mini-funk of his Wolfpack career.

The 6-5, 210-pounder from Charlotte, N.C., is a combined 0 of 12 from the field for zero points in back-to-back losses against Georgia Tech and North Carolina. He says it has nothing to do with his four-game absence due to a concussion Dec. 29-Jan. 11. Monday’s game was his fifth game back, and he had previously combined to score 25 points in back-to-back wins over Clemson and at Virginia.

“I’m physically OK,” Bryce said. “I’m 100 percent. I just have to get back in the gym and back to work and get ready. Those shots that I usually make are just not going.”

Bryce scored two points in two out of three games at the end of last year, but bounced back to play well in the NIT Tournament. He was scoreless twice during his freshman season at UNC Wilmington, where he was coached by Keatts.

“Everyone goes through slumps,” Bryce said. “I think I had one my freshman year and that was the last one I’ve had.”

Bryce said he is surprised by his lack of scoring, but is more concerned about the two losses. He entered the game averaging 14.9 points per game and Keatts knows it’s going to be hard for the Wolfpack to win if Bryce doesn’t bounce back.

“Some of my better players are not playing very good basketball,” Keatts said. “I think you have to get into the gym and see the ball go in. I’ve coached him for three years and I don’t think he’s had a stretch of two games where he is in the last two games, 0 for 12.

“I don’t think he was aggressive at all against Georgia Tech. I think he was aggressive tonight, but the shots weren’t going down.”

Bryce added five rebounds and two assists, but also struggled facing UNC’s traps.

“Even when I’m not scoring, the rebounds and assists, I’ve been lacking that also,” Bryce said. “I just have to do a better job of bringing energy to the guys.”

NC State senior point guard Markell Johnson drove for a layup to cut North Carolina’s lead to 55-52 with 11:19 left in the game.

The stage was set for the Wolfpack to get a few defensive stops and ride the momentum of the crowd to take control of the game. One problem, it was the last time the Wolfpack made it a one-possession game.

Two unlikely players combined for seven straight points for UNC. Charleston Southern graduate transfer Christian Keeling made back-to-back mid-range jumpers, and then William & Mary graduate transfer Justin Pierce drained a 3-pointer to stretch the lead back out to 60-52 with 10:17 left. NC State had recruited both Keeling and Pierce last spring.

“There were times we laid down and they went on runs,” said Funderburk, not talking specifically about the 7-0 grad transfer spurt. “We didn’t make shots we were supposed to make, but that’s basketball. On to the next one.”

Daniels said the key in the second half was to string along enough defensive stops to get back into the game, and it just didn’t happen enough.

“If we had gotten three stops in a row like that, we’d have had a better chance,” Daniels said. “I feel like we didn’t get one of those in the second half. We made it too easy for them.”

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