Duke (4-8, 0-4 ACC) used Cole Baumgartner's technical fall at 133 pounds to build the early advantage before the Tar Heels started a furious rally.
No. 7 Joey Ward got back in the win column with a methodical 6-2 decision over Zach Finesilver at 141. The victory sees Ward improve to 22-4 on the year and 11-2 in duals with only Friday's regular season finale at Gardner-Webb remaining before the postseason.
Heilmann continued his recent good form with a third straight ACC win at 149, dominating Xaviel Ramos for an 18-6 major decision.
Joey Moon then gave Carolina (7-6, 2-3 ACC) its first lead of the night and a big emotional boost with a 5-4 win over Jake Faust at 157. Trailing 4-2 late in the second period, Moon scored his first takedown of the bout in the final seconds to tie the score at 4. Starting the third on bottom, the Haw River, North Carolina, senior escaped and managed to fight off Faust over a wild final minute for a 5-4 decision that pushed UNC ahead 10-8.
Looking to continue the momentum at 165, Kane delivered in a big way with his first career dual pin. Leading 8-1 after an impressive opening period, the Milton, Georgia, freshman pounced early in the second and put Michael Wright on his back at 3:16 for a vital six points.
No. 6 Ethan Ramos capped UNC's run of five straight wins with a 10-5 decision over Connor Bass at 174. It was Bass' pin a year ago that sparked Duke's first win in the rivalry since 2004, but there would be no repeat of those heroics. Up 6-4 entering the final period, Ramos got a reversal and a takedown late to double up Bass and put Carolina ahead 19-8.
After Alec Schenk's major at 184 briefly pulled the Blue Devils within seven in the dual, Chaid slammed the door with a second-period pin of Luke Farinaro. Chaid started piling up the points early in the second period and stuck Farinaro with just four seconds remaining in the period to seal the dual for the Tar Heels.
The evening's final match saw Cory Daniel go toe to toe with Jacob Kasper, the nation's No. 4-ranked heavyweight. Daniel was even with Kasper throughout before giving up a takedown in the final 30 seconds. The 3-1 decision was Kasper's 20th consecutive victory.
In the end, however, the night belonged to Carolina, which has now not suffered back-to-back dual losses to the Blue Devils since 1972-73.
UNC will conclude its regular season dual schedule Friday, Feb. 10, at Gardner-Webb.
Results:
125: Thayer Atkins (Duke) dec. James Szymanski (UNC), 6-5 - Duke leads 3-0
133: Cole Baumgartner (Duke) tech fall Nicholas Lirette (UNC), 18-2 - Duke leads 8-0
141: #7 Joey Ward (UNC) dec. Zach Finesilver (Duke), 6-2 - Duke leads 8-3
149: Troy Heilmann (UNC) maj. dec. Xaviel Ramos (Duke), 18-6 - Duke leads 8-7
157: Joey Moon (UNC) dec. Jake Faust (Duke), 5-4 - UNC leads 10-8
165: Devin Kane (UNC) pinned Michael Wright (Duke), 3:16 - UNC leads 16-8
174: #6 Ethan Ramos (UNC) dec. Connor Bass (Duke), 10-5 - UNC leads 19-8
184: Alec Schenk (Duke) maj. dec. Elijah Kerr-Brown (UNC), 11-0 - UNC leads 19-12
197: Daniel Chaid (UNC) pinned Luke Farinaro (Duke), 4:56 - UNC leads 25-12
285: #4 Jacob Kasper (Duke) dec. Cory Daniel (UNC), 3-1 - UNC wins 25-15​
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