No. 13 North Carolina 79, Boston College 68: Isaiah Hicks scored a career-high 21 points as the visiting Tar Heels snapped a two-game slide.

Brice Johnson finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for North Carolina (18-6, 8-3 ACC), which shot 56.9 percent and made 20-of-27 free throws. Marcus Paige scored all of his 13 points after the break as the Tar Heels won their sixth straight in the series.

Olivier Hanlan followed up a 28-point effort in a loss at Notre Dame on Wednesday with a season-high 30 for Boston College (9-13, 1-9). Aaron Brown added 18 points and six rebounds as the Eagles dropped their fourth straight.

Paige, who entered leading the Tar Heels with 14.2 points per game, was held scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting in the first half while Hanlan had 15 points as the teams went into the break tied at 36-36. Consecutive baskets by Hicks and Nate Britt gave North Carolina a 49-42 lead and forced Boston College to call timeout with less than 15 minutes to go.

The Tar Heels later went on a 9-1 run capped by Paige's first basket - a 3-pointer with just over 11 ½ minutes left to make it 58-45 - but Hanlan and Brown had all of the points in a 7-0 burst as the Eagles pulled to within 69-64 with less than five minutes on the clock. Hanlan's free throws with 2:29 to go kept it a five-point margin before Paige had a basket, two free throws and a layup in the final 1:24 to seal it.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The contest marked the first of three straight on the road for the Tar Heels, who visit Pittsburgh next Saturday and rival Duke on Feb. 18. ... Paige's second-half 3-pointer was North Carolina's only make beyond the arc in five attempts. ... Tar Heels G J.P. Tokoto chipped in nine points and a game-high five assists off the bench.