Biscuit Boys did it off the bench against The Citadel.
Two days after the UNC women sat on 99 points for more than three minutes, their male counterparts created the most excitement possible of a blowout win by scoring 10 points in the last 2:16. The Tar Heels created the loudest roar from the crowd that came down from on high to almost fill the lower arena in the 100-67 victory over the small but scrappy Bulldogs.
It was a rather hectic race against the clock since the Heels’ last 27 points came from their bench, by far most of the season, and went through some scoreless chunks of time until they got to 90. The fans seemed to pick them up like they REALLY wanted those Bojangles sausage biscuits for a buck.
After Caleb Love made his fourth 3-pointer at the 11-minute mark, Hubert Davis began emptying his bench and the reserves scored only 17 points in 9 minutes; it looked like no biscuits with less than two minutes remaining.
Then freshman Tyler Nickel, who is becoming the first frontcourt sub, made his third 3-pointer of the half and added two free throws to reach 95. All the walk-ons came in with 90 seconds left and the two best shooters among them did the rest.
Creighton Lebo, the son of record-breaking marksman and assistant coach Jeff, missed his first long ball, but Beau Maye grabbed a rebound that led to Lebo swishing a wing jumper to reach 97. Now the crowd was going crazy. Maye pulled down another board and fed Lebo, who found Jackson Watkins for the long 3 on UNC’s last possession of the game. Watkins squared up in front of the home bench and hit nothing but net for 100.
It was all good fun but also symbolic of what Coach Davis is trying to do with this team in terms of energy and urgency going into the last non-ACC tests against Big Ten brutes Ohio State in New York and Michigan in Charlotte.
The Heels started slowly and were outshot early by The Citadel cadets who were hitting a better percentage until Carolina closed the first half on a 22-8 run to lead by 15. By the home stretch, the advantage grew to 33, and that’s when the game within the game took hold.
The bench points wound up 42-18, which was reflected in the final box score with no player taking more than 10 shots and still putting four of them in double figures. Nickel, also fast becoming a fan favorite, had all 16 of his points in the second half and added an assist and two steals.
UNC recorded its most assists so far with 24 and scored 32 baskets off them, also a season mark. Now, it’s off to New York and the biggest stage.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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