In the second half in South Bend, it looked like Carolina might get blown out of the building. Then, it looked like they’d stage a heroic comeback win.

When the buzzer sounded, neither of those things had happened, and the Fighting Irish had survived a late UNC push to take a 78-73 win over the Tar Heels.

It’s UNC’s first ACC loss of the season, and first overall on the road. Carolina is now 10-4 overall and 2-1 in ACC play.

Head coach Hubert Davis’ team came into the game shorthanded, as sophomore forward Dawson Garcia didn’t play due to a concussion suffered last Sunday against Boston College, and wings Justin McKoy and Kerwin Walton didn’t travel with the team due to COVID protocols.

Carolina sorely missed Walton’s outside shooting, especially in the first half. The Fighting Irish built up a lead as large as 10 points in the opening period, on the strength of seven three-pointers. Three of those came from certified Tar Heel killer Nate Laszewski. Laszewski hit a game-winner against Carolina in 2020, then scored 25 on seven three-pointers in the Smith Center in 2021. On Wednesday night, he was up to his old tricks again.

“Well, it’s a difficult matchup when you leave him open,” Davis said after the game. “The thing that he does the best is shoot the ball from three. And you can’t give him those open looks.”

In the absence of Walton, UNC managed just a single three-pointer in the first half. Most of its offense came from junior forward Armando Bacot, who amassed a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds in the first half alone. It was his 10th game of the season with a double-double. Bacot would finish with 21 points and a career-high 17 boards.

Nevertheless, the big man didn’t mince words after the loss.

“I’d trade every point and every rebound to win the game,” he said. “I would be zero-zero. I just want to win.”

Though Carolina was within five points at halftime, the Irish quickly expanded that lead in the second half, leading by as many as 13 at 56-43. After Davis called a timeout to compose his team, the Tar Heels promptly cut the deficit back to five points. Notre Dame pushed it to 10 once more before Carolina rallied yet again, using buckets from Brady Manek, Bacot and Caleb Love to whittle down the lead. A Bacot layup with 3:28 remaining in the game gave UNC its first lead in 29 minutes of game time at 67-66.

But it was Laszewski who quickly put an end to the run with a dagger three-pointer to give the Irish the lead right back. Carolina wouldn’t see it again for the rest of the game, as the shooting dried up and Notre Dame converted its free throws. Laszewski finished as Notre Dame’s leading scorer, with a season-high 20 points and six three-pointers. He’s made a combined 13 three-pointers in his last two games against the Tar Heels.

And so, a team which lost by 16 points to Boston College triumphed over a team which beat Boston College by 26 points.

“I just feel sorry for the fans, former players, former coaches,” Bacot said. “It’s just unacceptable that we can’t win these games with all the talent we have.”

“We take full responsibility,” said Love, who finished with 15 points, 13 of which came in the second half. “And going forward, we just can’t let it happen again. We keep saying, ‘We can’t let it happen again, can’t let it happen again,’ but we have to change.”

 

Featured image via Robert Franklin/Associated Press.

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