by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn

After a close victory over Tennessee last Sunday, The Tar Heels seemed ill-prepared for tonight’s game. They seemed to take Wofford for granted and started the game with little energy and effort. As a result, Wofford took advantage of the sluggish Tar Heels as they came out firing on all cylinders as they led by one at the end of the first half and led by as many as 14 points in the second half. Once Carolina was down by double digits, the team started to pick up the energy and effort a little bit as they saw the game was getting out of reach. The Tar Heels made a comeback cutting the lead to one by drawing fouls and going to the free throw line, but could never gain the lead. The Heels were in the game at the end as they were in the double bonus for the majority of the second half. UNC did not take advantage as they settled for threes at the end of the game instead of attacking the basket and had costly mistakes at the end that would ultimately cause them to lose the game.

 

UNC Game Stats

North Carolina

FG       3PT     FT   REB    AST    STL     BLK    TO       PF       PTS

1. Maye           4-16    2-6      7-8      14        1          0          2          1          2          17
2. Pinson        0-1      0-1      2-2      2          4          1          1          5          4            2
3. Brooks       4-5     0-0      2-5      3          0          0          1          0          2          10
4. Williams    3-7     1-3      2-3      2          2          1          0          1          2           9
5. Berry II       7-16  3-8      6-7      5          3          0          0          3          3          23
6. Huffman   0-0    0-0      1-2      1          0          0          0          0          0          1
7. Manley       1-2     0-0      1-3      3          0          0          1          0          2          3
8. Robinson 0-0    0-0      0-0      1          0          0          0          0          1          0
9. Platek        0-2    0-1      0-0      1          0          0          0          1          1          0
10. Felton        0-1     0-1      0-0      1          0          0          0          3          0          0
11. Johnson    1-5    1-5      7-8      3          1          1          0          0          0          10

 

TEAM    20-55  7-25    28-38  38        11        3          5          14        17        75

36.4% 28.0% 73.7%

Wofford

FG      3PT     FT       REB    AST    STL     BLK    TO       PF       PTS

1. Jackson      8-15   0-0      2-3      9          3          3          6          1          4          18
2. Magee      10-23  4-12    3-3      2          2          1          0          0          2          27
3. Stumpe      2-5     0-2      5-6      1          3          0          0          2          4          9
4. Brooks       2-6     1-1      2-2        8          1          1          1          2          3          7
5. Murphy     3-5    0-2      0-0      3          2          0          0          1          1          6
6. Aluma        0-1   0-0      0-0      0          0          0          0          0          2          0
7. Pegram     0-1   0-0      4-4      5          0          0          0          0          4          4
8. Theme-Love 0-0 0-0 0-0      0          2          0          0          0          2          0
9. Hoover     3-8    2-5      0-0      0          0          0          0          1          3          8

TEAM             28-64  7-22    16-18  34        13        5          7          10        25        79

43.8% 31.8% 88.9%

 

UNC Bright Spots

Joel Berry was one of the only players to really play well for most of the game and kept the Heels in the game by constantly attacking the basket. He led the Tar Heels with 23 pts, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.

Luke Maye played well in the second half and finished the game with 17 points, 14 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

Cameron Johnson played in his first regular season game and had a decent first game as he had 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, and 1 assist. Now that he is back, he should be a boost in production for us going forward this season.

 

Needs Work

The Tar Heels need to come out with the same intensity and energy every game no matter what team it is. They do not need to play down to their competition and take inferior teams for granted. The execution down the stretch in close games also needs improvement.

 

Final Observations

The Tar Heels need to move on from this game and focus on playing better for now on. In the two losses this season, the preparation leading into those games have not provided a good product on the court so whatever they did before those game should not be done again. Now that Cameron Johnson is back, he should be a boost in production for us going forward this season. There is plenty of basketball left.