UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Show Discipline and Grit in Their Win Over Furman

by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

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The North Carolina basketball team faced off against Furman on Tuesday night as they looked to get their fifth straight win. The Tar Heels got out to an early 7-0 lead with Dawson Garcia scoring all seven points.

Coming into this game, the Tar Heels had an obvious size advantage with Furman’s tallest player on the floor being six-foot-seven. The Tar Heels took full advantage early in the game as the Carolina big men scored the Heels’ first 15 points of the game. However, Furman came ready to play on Tuesday night and did not back down although they were undersized.

Furman kept the game close throughout the first half and even took a two-point lead at one point in the first half. Offensively, Furman played with extreme confidence and played to their strengths, which resulted in their 8 threes. They gave North Carolina everything they could handle going into halftime and the score was tied 39-39.

In the second half, the Tar Heels picked up their intensity and pressure on defense and it completely changed the game. The Heels continued to dominate in the paint as they did in the first half but made everything difficult for Furman on offense. UNC ran Furman off the three-point line and did not allow any easy baskets in the paint.

The Tar Heels held Furman to under 40% from the field in the second half and held them to just two threes. Carolina’s intensity on defense and dominance in the paint would fuel their run and the Heels pulled away in the second half, leading by as much as 22.

Armando Bacot was amazing in the second half with 12 second-half points and 14 for the game. The Tar Heels completely dominated Furman on the boards 44-25, twelve of those being offensive rebounds, resulting in 19-second chance points. UNC also outscored them in the paint 44-24, led by Dawson Garcia, Armando Bacot, and Brady Manek, who all scored in double figures. The Tar Heels played to their strengths all game long by staying committed to getting the ball inside to their big men and it led them to their 74-61 victory.

UNC Game Stats

1st     2nd     TOT

North Carolina 39      35      74

Furman         39      22      61

North Carolina

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
D. Garcia F	32	7-12	1-3	5-6	4	6	10	3	0	1	1	3	20
A. Bacot F	28	7-12	0-1	0-0	4	8	12	2	0	1	1	2	14
R.J. Davis G	36	2-8	0-3	2-5	0	3	3	7	0	0	1	1	6
C. Love G	33	3-10	2-5	2-2	1	5	6	4	2	0	2	0	10
L. Black G	31	4-5	1-1	0-0	0	5	5	1	1	0	0	1	9
BENCH	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
J. McKoy F	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
B. Manek F	19	6-9	1-3	0-1	3	3	6	0	0	0	3	0	13
D. Dunn G	1	0-1	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
D. Styles G	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
A. Harris G	12	1-3	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	2
K. Walton G	6	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM		30-60	5-16	9-14	12	32	44	18	3	2	8	10	74
		50.0%	31.3%	64.3%

Furman

STARTERS	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
J. Slawson F	38	5-14	2-6	0-0	0	6	6	7	3	1	2	3	12
C. Garrison G	33	1-4	1-3	0-0	3	3	6	2	1	1	0	1	3
M. Foster G	12	2-5	0-2	0-0	0	2	2	0	1	0	1	1	4
M. Bothwell G	32	3-10	1-8	2-2	0	1	1	3	0	0	3	2	9
A. Hunter G	36	8-14	4-8	1-1	0	2	2	3	0	0	0	1	21
BENCH	MIN	FG	3PT	FT	OREB	DREB	REB	AST	STL	BLK	TO	PF	PTS
J. Repass F	1	1-1	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	2
A. Williams F	8	1-2	1-2	0-0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	3
G. Hien F	9	2-4	0-0	0-0	0	1	1	1	1	0	0	2	4
B. Beeker F	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
J. Pegues G	7	0-2	0-1	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0
J. Anderson G	20	1-4	1-3	0-0	1	2	3	2	1	0	1	2	3
R. Lister G	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
R. Swanson G	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
J. Pugh G	1	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
TEAM		24-60	10-33	3-3	4	21	25	18	7	3	7	15	61
		40.0%	30.3%	100.0%

UNC Bright Spots

Dawson Garcia had 20 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 block.

Armando Bacot had 14 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 block.

Brady Manek had 13 points and 6 rebounds.

Caleb Love had 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 steals.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels need to guard the three-point line better. Furman hit 8 threes in the first half alone.

The Tar Heels also have to play better first halves and match the intensity and focus of the other team more often early in the game.

Final Observations

This was a good win for the Tar Heels and they are now 8-2 after winning five straight games. Furman is one of the better mid-majors in the country and they made UNC work for everything they got in this game.

It was up to the Heels to answer the challenge and raise their level of play to where they could take control of the game and win. Carolina responded well in the second half and is showing signs of a team that can overcome adversity. This was another positive step forward to them becoming a really good team.

Now they need to build up the confidence of their bench players on the court to solidify their rotation and depth. They have all the pieces to embody a championship team, but it is up to them to show how good they really are. They will have the chance to get a statement win on Saturday, December 18, when they face off against the #4 team in the country in UCLA on CBS at 3:00 pm.