UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. Kansas 92-89 Loss
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Fights Back Down 20 Points and Had a Chance to Win on the Road But Falls Short
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team played their second game of the season against Kansas in one of the most hostile environments in the country on Friday night. UNC came out firing and got out to an early 7-2 after a quick five points from RJ Davis. After the early flurry from the Tar Heels, Kansas would go on a huge run and take the lead. During this run, Carolina started to play uncharacteristic basketball offensively playing at a slow pace and taking bad shots that allowed Kansas to get out in transition for easy baskets.
UNC’s defense was not good in the first half and allowed Kansas to shoot 60% from the field. The Jayhawks took full advantage of their clear size advantage over UNC and had 30 points in the paint in the first half alone. Kansas also found success on the perimeter hitting 5 threes seeing little resistance from UNC for most of the first half. Kansas led as much as 20 before intermission as North Carolina shot just 35% from the field and was out of sorts on both ends of the floor. In the second half, the Tar Heels found themselves down by 15 but came out much more composed on both ends of the floor. Carolina returned to playing their fast-paced style of offense and finally started to lock in defensively and disrupt what Kansas was doing offensively. The Heels would find momentum and start to chip away at Kansas’ double-digit lead.
The Tar Heels used their speed and quickness to their advantage and started to get downhill attacking the basket constantly every time down the floor in transition and in the half-court putting extreme pressure. Their aggressiveness in driving to the basket had Kansas on their heels and forced them to commit fouls on several possessions where North Carolina was able to convert free throws to cut into the lead. With about ten minutes left in the second half, North Carolina was in the bonus and they made sure to capitalize on it. Jaelyn Withers, Seth Trimble, Ven Allen Lubin, Elliott Cadeau, RJ Davis, Drake Powell, and Jalen Washington were all major contributors to UNC’s comeback. The Tar Heels fought and competed hard to get back into this game. With about 6 minutes left in the game after being down as much as 20 in the first half, Carolina took a one-point lead after a Seth Trimble free throw.
Down the stretch, this game would go down to the wire. UNC was up four with a little over 3 minutes left but couldn’t quite put away the Jayhawks. After a Jaelyn Withers turnover and RJ Davis turnover, Kansas scored on back-to-back possessions and tied the game. Jalen Washington would hit a layup on the next possession to give the Heels back a two-point lead, but Kansas guard Zeke Mayo responded with a jumper to tie the game back up. On the next three possessions, Carolina didn’t execute well enough offensively to get the ball in the hands of either Seth Trimble or RJ Davis, and three-pointers by Jae’lyn Withers, Jalen Washington, and Elliott Cadeau were taken that were missed, costing the Heels late in the game. Meanwhile, Kansas got the ball to the best player Hunter Dickinson in their biggest possessions and he made the go-ahead basket to help the Jayhawks pull out the win over the Tar Heels.
UNC Game Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| 9 North Carolina 1-1 | 38 | 51 | 89 |
| 1 Kansas 2-0 | 53 | 39 | 92 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| S. Trimble | 19 | 4 | 0 | 4/10 | 1/3 | 10/10 | 1 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| R. Davis | 16 | 1 | 4 | 3/15 | 1/7 | 9/11 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| E. Cadeau | 12 | 2 | 7 | 3/11 | 0/3 | 6/6 | 3 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| J. Withers | 11 | 9 | 0 | 4/6 | 3/5 | 0/0 | 3 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Washington | 7 | 9 | 1 | 3/5 | 0/1 | 1/2 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| V. Lubin | 10 | 3 | 0 | 4/4 | 0/0 | 2/2 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| I. Jackson | 10 | 2 | 1 | 4/5 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| J. Brown | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Powell | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1/4 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| C. Tyson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T. Claude | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| E. Davis | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| R. Hawkins | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Holbrook | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| D. Mayo Jr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 89 | 39 | 13 | 27/63 | 7/23 | 28/31 | 21 | – | 2 | 5 | 9 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| H. Dickinson | 20 | 10 | 3 | 7/15 | 0/2 | 6/9 | 4 | 29 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| K. Adams Jr. | 14 | 2 | 2 | 7/13 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Harris Jr. | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5/8 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 4 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| R. Griffen | 6 | 1 | 0 | 2/5 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 2 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| D. Coit | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0/4 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| Z. Mayo | 21 | 5 | 4 | 7/14 | 3/9 | 4/4 | 2 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| A. Storr | 13 | 2 | 3 | 6/13 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 2 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| F. Bidunga | 8 | 8 | 0 | 3/4 | 0/0 | 2/4 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| R. Passmore | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Z. Clemence | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| W. Evers | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Cross | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| P. Cassidy | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| W. Thengvall | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 92 | 34 | 18 | 37/76 | 6/21 | 12/17 | 21 | – | 3 | 4 | 4 |
UNC Bright Spots
Seth Trimble had 19 points, 4 rebounds,
RJ Davis had 16 points, 4 assists, and 1 rebound
Elliott Cadeau had 12 points, 7 assists, and 2 rebounds.
Jae’lyn Withers had 11 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 steal.
Ven Allen-Lubin had 10 points and 3 rebounds.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels need to start games with more energy, effort, and intensity on both ends of the floor. Their slow starts allow teams to get confidence early in games and it can become dangerous for the Heels if they get down by a lot early in the game.
Coach Hubert Davis needs to manage the end of games better. He needs to make sure the team is getting quality shots every time down the floor in close games, and if they’re not he needs to make immediate adjustments to ensure they are doing so.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels suffer their first loss and move to 1-1 on the season. The Tar Heels played poorly in the first half but bounced back in the second half playing some good quality basketball. In a game where RJ Davis ultimately struggled even though he scored 16 points, several guys stepped up to help make a comeback in that game. Seth Trimble and Jaelyn Withers were excellent on both ends of the floor and led the almost completed comeback for the Heels. Ven Allen Lubin, Drake Powell, and Ian Jackson were solid off the bench with their defense, energy, and versatility on both ends of the floor.
The Tar Heels didn’t play their best game but put together a great stretch of basketball that got them back into the game with a chance to win at the end. Coach Hubert Davis still needs to do a better job with his late-game adjustments and management to help them close out games better. This will be critical in big games against really good opponents. This team will continue to get better as the season progresses as guys get more comfortable in their roles. They have all the talent and ingredients of a championship team and will need to build and mature with each game to fulfill that potential as a unit. Next up is American University on Friday, November 15th at 8:00.
Overall good showing. The team looks very promising.