UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Wakes Up in the Second Half to Put Away the Deacons 

by Derrick Clyburn

The North Carolina basketball team started out sloppy and uninterested in playing Wake Forest on a late Wednesday night 9 pm tip. Hubert Davis substituted players in and out to find a spark, but it was Leaky Black who kept the Heels in the game with 14 first-half points. Both teams turned the ball over at a heavy clip in the first half and the Tar Heels limped off to end the first half down 37-38.

In the second half, North Carolina came out with more intensity and purpose on the offensive end with R.J. Davis carrying the Tar Heels with 22 second-half points. UNC picked up their intensity and turned the Deacons over which led to several fast-break baskets. Seth Trimble was instrumental to the Tar Heel’s second-half success. He had a career-high 11 points for the game. The Heel’s defensive stops allowed them to get a six to nine-point cushion for the remainder of the game. R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot led all scoring with 27 and 21 points respectively.

UNC Game Stats

	1	2	T
Wake Forest 10-5	38	41	79
North Carolina 10-5	37	51	88

North Carolina

STARTERS	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
R. Davis	27	4	4	9/14	5/8	4/4	2	38	3	0	0
A. Bacot	21	9	5	7/11	0/0	7/10	2	38	2	1	0
L. Black	18	4	1	6/8	3/5	3/4	2	34	3	0	3
C. Love	7	4	2	3/15	1/7	0/0	3	38	1	0	4
P. Nance	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	1	2	0	0	0
BENCH	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
S. Trimble	11	2	0	4/4	0/0	3/4	3	22	0	2	1
J. Washington	2	2	0	1/3	0/1	0/0	3	4	0	0	0
J. McKoy	2	2	0	0/1	0/1	2/2	1	17	0	2	0
D. Dunn	0	1	0	0/1	0/1	0/0	1	3	0	0	1
J. Watkins	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	4	0	0	0
P. Johnson	0	0	0	0/1	0/1	0/0	0	4	0	0	0

Wake Forest

STARTERS	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
D. Monsanto	17	7	1	6/11	3/8	2/2	2	29	3	0	4
T. Appleby	16	4	9	5/15	3/5	3/6	3	38	2	0	2
A. Carr	16	9	5	7/11	2/4	0/2	2	35	0	0	3
M. Marsh	6	3	0	3/4	0/0	0/2	3	24	0	0	2
C. Hildreth	2	1	1	0/3	0/0	2/2	3	20	0	0	3
BENCH	PTS	REB	AST	FG	3PT	FT	PF	MIN	STL	BLK	TO
D. Williamson	12	2	0	4/7	2/3	2/2	1	30	1	0	0
B. Klintman	6	3	0	1/4	0/1	4/4	2	12	1	0	1
D. Bradford	4	0	0	2/2	0/0	0/0	2	12	0	0	0

UNC Bright Spots

R.J. Davis had 27 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals.

Armando Bacot had 21 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

Leaky Black had a career-high 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 assist.

Seth Trimble had a career-high 11 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Needs Work

The Tar Heels need to start out games with more focus and attention to detail. They seem to have such a laid-back attitude starting games.

North Carolina has to do a better job defending the three-point line. They need to do a better job of fighting over screens and running the opponent off the line.

Hubert Davis needs to shorten the leash on Caleb Love when he struggles. He was 3 for 15 from the field and had 4 turnovers. The poor play by Love allows opponents to hang around and it has a negative effect on the rest of the team. You can see it in their body language.

Final Observations

North Carolina is now 10-5 and 2-2 in the ACC. They needed this victory over Wake Forest to get back on the right path. The first half was hard to watch with so many turnovers and miscues. They didn’t seem confident in what they wanted to do.

It was good to see North Carolina get into a groove in the second half though. It looked like they were having fun and playing more freely. They need to make their second-half play tonight be the way they play moving forward. Next Up is Notre Dame on Saturday at 11:30 am in the Dean Dome.