North Carolina 79, No. 17 UNLV 73: Sophomore guard P.J. Hairston scored 15 points, including a pair of free throws with 28.5 seconds remaining to seal the win as the host Tar Heels snapped the Rebels' nine-game winning streak.

Senior guard Dexter Strickland scored a game-high 16 points, including five in the final 1:01, for North Carolina (10-3) while forward James Michael McAdoo added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Freshman forward Anthony Bennett scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for UNLV (11-2), which also got 15 points apiece from guards Anthony Marshall and Katin Reinhardt.

North Carolina led by as many as 15 points in the first half, forcing 11 turnovers which the Tar Heels turned into 19 points while holding UNLV to just 38 percent shooting. But the Rebels rallied to take a 49-48 lead on a 3-pointer by Reinhardt with 14:04 remaining.

The Tar Heels took the lead for good a few moments later on a layup by McAdoo but the Rebels crept to within one point, 64-63, on a layup by Khem Birch with 7:33 left. North Carolina held UNLV to just a pair of free throws over the next five minutes while extending its lead to 72-65, and the Rebels never got any closer than three points the rest of the way.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Junior F Mike Moser, who missed four games after suffering a dislocated right elbow in a Dec. 9 win at Cal, made a surprising return for UNLV, scoring three points and grabbing one rebound in 12 minutes before fouling out. ... North Carolina played without starting swingman Reggie Bullock, who suffered a mild concussion during a practice collision with McAdoo earlier in the week. ... The Tar Heels have won 63 in a row against non-ACC opponents at the Smith Center.