No. 13 North Carolina Collects Five Bonus Wins in 25-13 Victory Over Duke
A run of majors and a second-period fall in the middle weights created the separation for the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
No. 13 North Carolina used a string of bonus-point victories to build separation and beat Duke 25-13 in Chapel Hill.
The dual turned on the middle of the lineup. At 133 pounds, No. 23 Ethan Oakley opened the bonus surge with a 10-1 major decision, and Joey Showalter followed with a second-period fall at 165 to extend Carolina’s cushion. Later, No. 20 Jake Dailey added a 21-7 major at 184 and Robert Platt tacked on a major at 197, giving the Tar Heels a sequence of high-value results.
Duke reached back late in the lineup when No. 24 Connor Barket closed the night with a 10-0 major at heavyweight, but the Blue Devils' late bonus could not overcome Carolina’s accumulation of majors and a pin. Duke’s Aidan Wallace — also a ranked entrant — notched a decision at 174 for a timely win, and Duke finished the night with multiple individual winners.
The margin ultimately reflected bonus-point swings more than close decisions; the Tar Heels finished the dual with five bonus-point victories, the combination of majors and a fall proving decisive in a 12-point win at Carmichael Arena.
Individually, Oakley, Dailey and Platt provided the high-scoring margin swings with their majors, while Showalter’s pin was the match-clincher that made the scoreline comfortable. Barket’s dominant heavyweight major kept Duke competitive late, but North Carolina’s middle-weight stretch controlled the dual’s trajectory.