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BLACKSBURG, Va. — What now?

There was little question of North Carolina's effort Thursday night, not with the way it came back multiple times. Heck, Marcus Ginyard even hit a couple of shots, freshmen John Henson and David Wear posted career scoring highs, and coach Roy Williams tried a lineup change.

Yet, after losing to Virginia Tech 74-70 at Cassell Coliseum, the Tar Heels (13-9) find themselves in a bigger hole than ever: 2-5 in ACC play.

UNC led 35-33 at halftime, but the Hokies — who squandered a 12-point lead during the first half — pulled away again when guard Malcolm Delaney hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give them a 54-47 cushion with about 12 minutes left.

On the next play, Delaney was called for his fourth foul and went to the bench, seemingly giving the Tar Heels an opening. But teammate Dorenzo Hudson didn't let up, following a field goal with a three-point play to give Virginia Tech a 61-52 advantage — and put Carolina into rally mode again.

The Tar Heels systematically chipped away at their deficit, getting a three-point play from Deon Thompson, a gliding bucket from Henson and a bunch of free throws — one of which, by Thompson with 3 minutes, 36 seconds left, cut Virginia Tech's lead to 66-64.

Hokies forward Jeff Allen made it 67-64 with a free throw, then 69-64 when he was credited for a bucket after an Ed Davis goaltend.

A Davis free throw, then a Larry Drew II transition bucket, cut it back to 69-67. With 36.6 seconds left, Delaney went to the free-throw line and hit both shots to give the Hokies a 71-67 cushion. With 18 seconds left, a 3-point try by Dudley alumnus Will Graves wiggled out, pretty much sealing the loss.

Davis finished with 15 points for the Heels, Henson added 14 and David Wear had 12.

Delaney finished with 21 points for Virginia Tech (17-4, 4-3).

The game began with a lineup change for Carolina, as freshman Dexter Strickland made his fourth start of the season at shooting guard in place of senior Ginyard — but it was the first that wasn't because of an injury.

UNC was sloppy and turnover-prone early. But trailing 22-10 with about 12 minutes left in the half, the Heels used a 14-2 run to tie the score at 24, culminating when Henson followed a dunk with two free throws. Ginyard, 0-for-8 in his previous two games and 6-for-28 in six since returning from a right ankle injury, also hit a 3-pointer during the run, and Virginia Tech went without a field goal for about five minutes.

Hudson stopped the deluge with a jumper. And with 4:26 left, Delaney — the ACC's leading scorer, who was 1-for-7 during the half -- scored during a three-point play to give the Hokies a 29-27 lead.

Carolina took a lead into the break when Drew beat the buzzer on a runner.

NORTH CAROLINA (13-9) — Strickland 0-2 1-2 1, Drew II 3-7 2-2 9, Graves 1-7 2-2 4, Thompson 3-7 2-5 8, Davis 4-7 7-11 15, Ginyard 2-7 1-2 6, McDonald 0-0 0-0 0, Henson 5-6 4-4 14, D.Wear 5-7 0-0 12, T.Wear 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 23-53 20-30 70.

VIRGINIA TECH (17-4) — Hudson 6-13 3-3 17, Delaney 6-17 7-7 21, Allen 4-14 6-9 14, Bell 2-6 2-3 6, Davila 3-4 0-0 6, Raines 1-1 0-0 2, Green 0-5 0-0 0, Witcher 0-1 0-0 0, Atkins 0-0 0-0 0, Thompson 4-6 0-0 8. Totals 26-67 18-22 74.

Halftime—North Carolina 35-33.
3-point goals—North Carolina 4-15 (D.Wear 2-3, Drew II 1-3, Ginyard 1-4, Henson 0-1, Graves 0-4), Virginia Tech 4-19 (Hudson 2-5, Delaney 2-9, Allen 0-1, Bell 0-1, Green 0-3).
Fouled out—Thompson.
Rebounds—North Carolina 40 (Davis, Strickland 7), Virginia Tech 36 (Bell 11).
Assists—North Carolina 12 (Drew II 6), Virginia Tech 16 (Delaney 5).
Total fouls—North Carolina 19, Virginia Tech 24.
A—9,847.