In a game highlighted by the return of senior point guard Joel Berry, the ninth-ranked UNC men’s basketball team nearly found itself on the wrong end of an upset bid Wednesday night at the Dean Smith Center.
Instead, the Tar Heels improved to 2-0 this season–after shifting into gear during the final minutes of a 93-81 victory over the Bucknell Bison.
Berry, who was returning from a broken right hand, was aggressive in getting to the free throw line all night and tied with Theo Pinson for the team lead with six assists in his first game back. After making his first shot of the night—a three-pointer from the left wing—he then missed his next 10 attempts and finished with only eight points.
It was obvious that Berry still has some rust to shake off, but his teammates were more than ready to contribute.
Sterling Manley played beyond his freshman designation on Wednesday against Bucknell, scoring 16 points and grabbing 13 rebounds off the bench. (AP Photo/ Gerry Broome)
Pinson tallied a career-high 19 points to go with all of his assists, while Luke Maye scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds—continuing to look like a blossoming star in the frontcourt.
Freshman forward Sterling Manley had himself quite a game up front as well, putting up a career-high 16 points and 13 rebounds in just 17 minutes of action off the bench.
Although Berry’s shot wasn’t falling, the rest of the Tar Heels did just enough to cover for their leader.
Head coach Roy Williams—who received a commemorative ball from Berry and Pinson afterwards to recognize his 400th win at UNC–praised his point guard for a gritty performance in his postgame press conference.
“I thought he was really good,” Williams said, of Berry. “I halfway expected that with his [poor] shooting, but when he made that first one I thought maybe I was gonna be wrong.
“He was the one that handed me the ball out there,” he continued, in reference to the postgame ceremony. “I told him I was glad it was a handoff, and that he didn’t shoot it to me. It would have not been a complete pass.
“But he’s a tough, tough kid.”
After leading by as many as 16 points in the first half, UNC let up defensively for a while–especially on the perimeter.
Bucknell took advantage and unleashed a barrage of three-pointers, closing the gap to just one midway through the second half.
Luke Maye became the first Tar Heel since Tyler Hansbrough to open a season with back-to-back 20-point games.
(AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Star forward Zach Thomas finished with four made threes and 21 points to lead the charge for the visitors. Thomas’s effort–paired with another 21 points from center Nana Foulland—gave the battle-tested Bison a fighting chance at pulling off the upset.
Not until Maye hit a three-pointer with under five minutes to play–a shot which put UNC back ahead by double digits did Williams feel comfortable about the outcome.
“We really wanted to try to focus and do a great job on Zach Thomas, and he only got 21–so we did a great job,” Williams said, with sarcasm oozing from his mouth. “The other guy—Foulland—they were the two guys who were First Team All-Conference for them. They both had 21.
“We weren’t nearly as good defensively as we needed to be,” the coach added. “But we made enough plays.”
Having come out with the win, the Tar Heels now have to prepare for the competition level to rise in the coming weeks.
Following next Monday’s game at Stanford, UNC will travel to Portland for three games in the prestigious PK80 Tournament, an event honoring the 80th birthday of Nike founder Phil Knight.
With the news Wednesday that guard Cam Johnson will miss four to six weeks due to a torn meniscus, the pressure on Berry to round himself back into peak form will only increase—especially as the Tar Heels try to stay among the conversation as one of the top teams in America.
“I expected to miss some of the shots that I missed tonight,” Berry told reporters after the game. “I mean, I haven’t used my [right] hand in three weeks.
“It was just good getting back out there on the court tonight to get some run in,” he added. “Before we go out on this long trip.”
Up Next:
UNC will now get set to travel to Palo Alto, California for its first true road game of the young season. The Tar Heels will face off against the Stanford Cardinal–a team coached by former UNC assistant Jerod Haase on Monday, Nov. 20.Tip-off is set for 11:30 p.m. that night.
Game Notes:
- Roy Williams is now the only coach to win at least 400 games at two schools (UNC and Kansas) He boasts a career record of 818-216–good enough for a win percentage of .791.
- Luke Maye became the first Tar Heel to open the year with back-to-back 20-point games since Tyler Hansbrough did it in 2006-07.
- It was UNC’s 20th consecutive win at the Smith Center.
- The Tar Heels had a 47-28 advantage over Bucknell in the rebounding department.
Cover Photo via Gerry Broome (Associated Press)
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