UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. Charleston Southern 105-60 Win

UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Routs Charleston Southern in the Last Tune-Up Before Conference Play

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

After a few days off for the holidays, the North Carolina basketball team returned to action against Charleston Southern on Friday night. The layoff didn’t seem to affect the Tar Heels any as they came out with a lot of energy to start the game. It was a very fast-paced game early with both teams trading baskets. RJ Davis scored 10 of the Tar Heels’ first 12 points to set the tone early until his teammates were able to get a rhythm offensively. After being up 10-9 five minutes into the game, the Heels would pick up their pressure and intensity defensively and spark a 14-0 run.

The North Carolina defense would open the game up for the Tar Heels and help push their lead to double figures. UNC had 6 steals, and 5 blocks, and held Charleston under 30 points in the first half and 37% from the field. Meanwhile, Carolina shot 51% from the field, 41% from the three-point line, and had 13 assists on 20 made baskets in the first half. The Heels were tremendous on both ends of the floor and led by 23 going into halftime. 

In the second half, North Carolina continued their dominance on both ends of the floor against CSU. The Tar Heels were just the better team and it showed throughout the game. The Heels outscored Charleston Southern 52-12 in the paint, outrebounded them 46-25, outscored them in fast break points 15-0, and points off turnovers 17-7. Carolina also had one of the better games sharing the ball with 20 assists to just 5 turnovers for the game and had one of the better games from their players off the bench with 46 bench points led by Seth Trimble and Jalen Washington, who both had career highs in points this game. Defensively UNC played well throughout making Charleston Southern uncomfortable all game long and holding them to just 33% from the field.

Six North Carolina players scored in double figures including RJ Davis, Jalen Washington, Armando Bacot, Seth Trimble, Elliott Cadeau, and Harrison Ingram. 6 different Tar Heels also made a three in the game.  RJ Davis became the first Tar Heels ever to have a stat line of 20 points, 10 assists, and five steals in a game as he continues his impressive play for the Heels. UNC dominated this game from start to finish and led by as much as 47 in the game as they got their convincing 105-60 win over Charleston Southern.

UNC Game Stats

	1	2	T
Charleston So. 4-9	28	32	60
9 N. Carolina 9-3	51	54	105

N. Carolina

STARTERS	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
R. Davis	20	1	10	7/13	3/6	3/3	0	27	5	0	0
E. Cadeau	13	4	3	5/9	1/2	2/2	0	21	1	0	1
A. Bacot	12	9	1	5/6	0/1	2/2	0	20	1	1	1
H. Ingram	10	7	2	3/9	3/5	1/2	0	21	1	0	1
C. Ryan	7	3	1	3/7	1/3	0/0	2	23	1	2	0
BENCH	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
J. Washington	17	7	0	7/9	2/3	1/2	0	16	0	2	0
S. Trimble	12	6	1	6/10	0/0	0/0	1	20	0	0	0
J. Okonkwo	7	4	0	2/2	0/0	3/3	0	7	0	0	0
J. Withers	5	1	2	2/2	1/1	0/0	1	17	0	2	0
P. Wojcik	2	1	0	1/4	0/3	0/0	1	10	0	0	1
D. Farris	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	2	0	0	0
R. Landry	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	2	0	0	0
Z. High	0	2	0	0/1	0/1	0/0	2	9	0	0	1
C. Lebo	0	1	0	0/1	0/1	0/0	1	5	0	0	0
Total	105	46	20	41/73	11/26	12/14	8	–	9	7	5

Charleston So.

STARTERS	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
A. Sumler	21	3	1	7/18	5/10	2/2	0	35	1	0	1
D. Patrick	11	1	2	4/10	3/6	0/0	1	31	0	1	0
R. Johnson	8	4	3	2/11	0/2	4/4	1	33	0	1	2
R. Duhart Jr.	8	3	2	3/5	2/4	0/0	3	37	0	0	0
T. Kelly	6	7	2	3/11	0/1	0/0	4	30	0	0	4
BENCH	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
G. Heath III	2	5	1	1/6	0/1	0/1	3	17	0	0	0
Q. Bolton Jr.	2	0	0	1/2	0/1	0/0	1	2	0	0	0
J. Thompson	2	0	1	0/0	0/0	2/2	0	13	0	0	3
A. Savage	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	2	0	0	0
K. Clinton	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
L. Hutchinson	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
A. Haas	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
L. Olalere	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
N. Days	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
T. Berry	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total	60	23	12	21/63	10/25	8/9	13	–	1	2	10

UNC Bright Spots 

RJ Davis had 20 points, 10 assists, 5 steals, and 1 rebound. 

Jalen Washington had 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 blocks. 

Elliott Cadeau had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. 

Armando Bacot had 12 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 block. 

Seth Trimble had 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist. 

Harrison Ingram had 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. 

Needs Work 

UNC’s defense against the three and on the perimeter must be better. They need to do a better job of forcing the opponent off the three-point line and be better at rotating out to shooters.  

Final Observations 

North Carolina improves to 9-3 on the season. This was a good win for the Tar Heels as they get ready for conference play. Everyone who touched the floor contributed in a positive way and it should give them a huge confidence boost for the next stretch of the season. RJ Davis continues to lead the way with his scoring prowess leading the team in scoring for the eighth straight game. Players like Seth Trimble and Jalen Washington are stepping up and becoming more confident in their games and roles on the team as they lead the bench units.

At this point in the season, this Carolina team is only scratching the surface of how good of a team they can be. They have multiple guys that can do different things offensively and defensively to help contribute to a winning product and it will be exciting to see how this team continues to gel and mature as a team together. Next up is Pittsburgh on January 2 at 7:00 P.M. on ESPN.