Armando Bacot scored 22 points and North Carolina recovered from a couple of rough outings by defeating visiting UNC Asheville 72-53 on Tuesday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.

The Tar Heels had their best effort at the defensive end, holding UNC Asheville to 26.5 percent shooting.

North Carolina (4-2) lost consecutive games in Connecticut as part of the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off, falling to nationally ranked Purdue and Tennessee. As a result, the Tar Heels dropped out of the rankings.

Many of North Carolina's shortcomings have come on the defensive end across the first couple weeks of the season, something first-year coach Hubert Davis vowed to fix.

RJ Davis had 12 points and Leaky Black, who missed the Purdue game with illness, added nine points and 11 rebounds for North Carolina.

Jamon Battle had 19 points for UNC Asheville (2-3). He shot 7-for-11 from the field, but the rest of the team's starters were a combined 6-for-35 from the floor.

The Bulldogs shot 7-for-37 on 3-pointers, while North Carolina was 7-for-14 from long range.

The Tar Heels used Bacot in the post to their advantage and he hit eight of his 14 shots. Still, North Carolina was hampered at times by 18 turnovers compared to just seven for the Bulldogs.

Battle's 3-pointer pulled UNC Asheville within 62-49 with just under six minutes to play. The Bulldogs didn't score again until the 1:18 mark.

North Carolina finished with a 51-29 rebounding edge.

The Tar Heels held a double-digit lead about seven minutes into the game. It was 17-5 on Brady Manek's 3-pointer, which was the team's fourth 3 of the game.

North Carolina led 37-24 at halftime in its first game at home since three straight outings away from Chapel Hill.

The Tar Heels improved to 9-0 in the series with UNC Asheville after the first meeting in 10 years.