For the second straight game, Hubert Davis and the UNC basketball team found themselves in an uncomfortable position: down at the half against a team most would expect them to beat. Inside a raucous, sold-out TD Arena, the College of Charleston Cougars had taken the fight to the Tar Heels in the first 20 minutes, leading 42-36 on the strength of seven three-pointers. Carolina hadn’t made things easier on themselves, turning the ball over 11 times after doing so just seven times against Brown last Friday. They trailed by as many as 11 points in the half.
“I thought Charleston was more physical than us [in the first half],” Davis said after the game. “We had trouble just getting the ball in, out of bounds underneath [the basket]. And we couldn’t even get into our offense, and when we did catch the basketball, we were so far away from the spots where we needed to be.”
The only bright spot for UNC in the half had been the play of junior forward Armando Bacot. Bacot, who averaged 15 points per game on 81 percent shooting in Carolina’s first two contests, was up to his old tricks against the Cougars. He served as UNC’s only reliable offensive weapon in the first half, scoring 16 points on 6-7 shooting. No other Tar Heel had more than five points.
“I feel like he’s the best big in the country,” sophomore guard Caleb Love said. “He just imposed his will, and when he’s locked in, can’t nobody guard him.”
Even with Bacot’s strong play, the Tar Heels were staring down a loss to the unranked foes from the Colonial Athletic Association before a tough weekend slate in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off.
But Carolina buckled down in the second half, cutting down on the mistakes which bedeviled them in the first. The 11 turnovers in the first half shrunk to just six in the second. Sophomore guard R.J. Davis, held scoreless in the first half after picking up two fouls, attacked Charleston’s defense early, scoring points on two straight possessions to whittle the lead down to 46-43.
“We were the more physical team [in the second half],” Hubert Davis said. “We caught the ball where we wanted to. We set solid, legal screens. We felt like one of the advantages for us was us attacking the basket, whether through the post or penetration. I felt like Armando did that, and then Caleb and R.J. were able to do that.”
A three-pointer from graduate transfer Brady Manek and more dominant post play from Bacot on the ensuing possessions secured UNC its first lead of the game. With an advantage finally in hand, the Tar Heels began to crack down on the defensive end. Charleston would only make four three-pointers in the second half in 14 attempts, and shoot 36 percent from the field. Bacot and senior Leaky Black, who combined to play 35 of a possible 40 minutes in the second half, keyed the improved performance. The two players amassed eight blocks in the game: two from Black and six from Bacot, which tied his career-high.
On the offensive end, it was Love and Kerwin Walton who stepped up for the Tar Heels. Love abused his Cougar defenders in the lane, attacking the rim to earn 12 free throw attempts in the second half alone, of which he made 10. He would score 18 points in the half, with several impressive jumpers contributing to that tally.
“He was just being himself,” Bacot said. “He went back to ‘High School Caleb.’ Just playing with that swagger, knowing nobody can guard him, and just confident. When he plays like that… he can propel us and get us to being a great team.”
Walton drilled three critical three-point jumpers down the stretch, one of which silenced the Charleston faithful when the Cougars had slashed an eight-point Carolina lead down to 72-71. He finished with 14 points off the bench.
“I always knew he had that in him,” Love said of the sophomore sharpshooter. “He’s a great shot-maker, a great three-point shooter, and they couldn’t handle him coming off those screens. And we kept going to him.”
More free throws from Love kept the Cougars at arm’s length for the rest of the game, and the Tar Heels walked out of Charleston with a well-earned 94-83 victory. They scored 58 points in the second half while shooting 64.3 percent. Bacot finished with a career-best 24 points.
𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/PDFbBiAJDd
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) November 17, 2021
The victory is Carolina’s first true road win in a building with no capacity limits since February of 2020, and the first true road test in the college careers of sophomores Love, R.J. Davis, Walton and others.
“I like those environments,” Love said. “I always have. I live for these moments.”
“It was amazing,” said the more experienced Bacot, who played in true road environments his freshman year. “At the beginning of the game, just in warmups, I was fired up.”
As for Hubert Davis, the long-term benefits of playing a true road game this early on in the season are not lost on him, but the short-term results seemed to concern him more.
“I love it, now that we won,” he said.
Up Next
The Tar Heels’ stiffest test of the season awaits in Uncasville, CT, as Carolina will travel to New England for the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament this weekend. The three teams joining them will be No. 6 Purdue, No. 5 Villanova and No. 17 Tennessee. The Tar Heels will face the Boilermakers on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Game Notes
- Carolina is now 6-3 all-time against College of Charleston, and 1-1 on the road.
- Bacot is just the fourth Tar Heel ever to amass 20 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks in a game. Rasheed Wallace, Mitch Kupchak and John Henson are the others.
- Carolina has shot 50 percent or better in four of six halves this season.
Featured image via 247 Sports
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