Luke Maye scored 20 points as No. 9 North Carolina avenged a loss by whipping No. 15 Louisville 79-69 on Saturday afternoon in Louisville, Ky.

The visiting Tar Heels built a big lead in the first half and withstood a few mini-rallies from Louisville to secure their fifth consecutive victory and knock the Cardinals out of a share of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

North Carolina (17-4, 7-1 ACC) is just a half-game out of the top spot in the league. The Tar Heels are 5-0 in ACC road games going into a three-game homestand.

Cameron Johnson added 19 points, accounting for half of North Carolina's six 3-point baskets. Garrison Brooks had 12 points and Kenny Williams had 10.

Maye, a senior forward who was coming off a season-low four-points Tuesday at Georgia Tech, also collected 11 rebounds. Johnson pulled in 10 boards as part of the Tar Heels' 49-32 rebounding margin.

North Carolina won despite point guard Coby White scoring only eight points on 3-for-14 shooting.

The Cardinals held an ACC-best six-game winning streak that began with an 83-62 whipping of North Carolina on Jan. 12.

Dwayne Sutton (19 points), Christen Cunningham (15 points) and Jordan Nwora (11 points) led Louisville (16-6, 7-2).

Louisville led the ACC in turnover margin in the conference entering the game, but committed 11 to North Carolina's 10.

The Tar Heels climbed to a double-digit lead in the first half, almost a reversal of last month's outcome in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Louisville pulled within 58-49 before the midway mark of the second half. North Carolina responded with a 10-2 spurt.

The Tar Heels led by 19 points in the first half before settling for a 44-28 advantage at the break when Nassir Little tipped in a shot.

Maye and Johnson each posted 12 points in the half. North Carolina held a 28-12 first-half rebounding advantage.

--Field Level Media