UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. Radford 89-74 Win
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Cruises Against the Pesky Radford Highlanders
by Derrick Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team faced off against the Radford Highlanders on Tuesday night without their starting shooting guard and senior leader, Seth Trimble, who will miss several weeks due to a broken non-shooting arm. The Tar Heels struggled to get into a flow and rhythm in the first half due to Trimble’s absence, and it showed on both ends of the floor. They missed a multitude of open shots. The on-the-ball defensive pressure and leadership were missing for most of the half. Also, Caleb Wilson got into early foul trouble, and Jarin Stevenson tweaked his ankle and was questionable to come back. So there were unusual line-ups on the floor at times.
Radford had something to do with the early flow problems that the Tar Heels navigated through. They switched defenses from zone to man to the trap throughout the first stanza. Henri Veesar was the only player who was consistent on both ends of the floor, and he helped to carry North Carolina to 13 13-point halftime lead.
In the second half, North Carolina settled down and began to assert their will more against the pesky Highlanders. Luka Bogavac found his rhythm and started to exert himself offensively. Caleb Wilson had 3 fouls, so he didn’t play as aggressively as he wanted to, but he found a way with his high motor to produce a double-double. Henri Vessar continued to be steady, and the Heels cruised to a 15-point victory, which could have been a larger margin, but they missed 18 free throws, shooting 63% for the game. Luka Bogavac led UNC with 19 points and 5 assists.
UNC Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| Radford 2-1 | 31 | 43 | 74 |
| 18 North Carolina 3-0 | 44 | 45 | 89 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| L. Bogavac | 19 | 3 | 5 | 7/18 | 3/11 | 2/4 | 3 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| H. Veesaar | 18 | 7 | 0 | 5/7 | 1/1 | 7/11 | 2 | 28 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| J. Stevenson | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2/6 | 1/5 | 10/12 | 1 | 25 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| C. Wilson | 13 | 14 | 2 | 4/13 | 0/1 | 5/9 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| K. Evans | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 1/1 | 2 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| J. Powell | 8 | 1 | 1 | 3/6 | 2/4 | 0/2 | 4 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| D. Dixon | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1/5 | 1/4 | 4/6 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| J. Brown | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 2/4 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Young | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1/6 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Z. High | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| I. Denis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| I. Matlekovic | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| E. Davis | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Holbrook | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| E. Smith | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 89 | 48 | 15 | 25/65 | 8/31 | 31/49 | 23 | – | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| D. Parker Jr. | 23 | 6 | 0 | 8/17 | 2/6 | 5/10 | 1 | 33 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| D. Jones | 22 | 2 | 0 | 7/18 | 1/5 | 7/11 | 3 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| J. Johnson | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4/17 | 1/8 | 1/2 | 2 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| M. Jordan | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1/3 | 1/2 | 2/2 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| T. Brown | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| B. Rigsby Jr. | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1/4 | 1/4 | 3/4 | 3 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| L. Jordan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1/4 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| G. Ferreira | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1/3 | 0/0 | 1/2 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| L. Walls | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1/3 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 5 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| F. Erichsen | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| B. Land | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| W. Keel Jr. | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Z. Walker | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| D. Alves | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 74 | 36 | 6 | 24/70 | 7/30 | 19/31 | 33 | – | 7 | 3 | 11 |
UNC Bright Spots
Luka Bogavac had 19 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.
Henri Veesar had 18 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block.
Jarin Stevenson had 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 steal.
Caleb Wilson had 13 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal.
Needs Work
The Tar Heels need to make sure they are not getting stagnant offensively in the halfcourt. There needs to be constant ball movement and player movement to create advantages for someone to take a quality shot. They also must do a better job of protecting the basketball, not being sloppy with the ball, trying to make the spectacular or difficult pass, or having careless turnovers.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels improve to 3-0 on the season. They had their struggles with Radford, which was to be expected, missing a key piece to their starting line-up in Seth Trimble. Hubert and the coaching staff were trying out lineups that weren’t comfortable with one another yet. It will be a process figuring out who will step up and play their roles to fill in while Seth is out.
North Carolina has a few more tune-up games before they meet Michigan State on Thanksgiving Day in the Fort Myers Classic. Hopefully, they can get some of the reserves up to speed and playing with confidence. Coach Davis will have time to see if Bogavac, Powell, Young, and Dixon can fill the void. Next up is NC Central on Friday at 9 P.M.
When you strive to be the ” big dog” on the corner. The smaller ones will always try to challenge you and take you down. May the team continue to grow together and peak at the right time.
Sloppy game from the Heels, especially from the 3 point line. Less that 30% shooting from 3. Glad we got the win, and hopefully we shoot better going forward.