No. 6 Purdue Fights Off No. 18 UNC Basketball In High-Scoring Affair

With offenses as talented as those of the No. 6 Purdue Boilermakers and No. 18 UNC, defense was optional for the Hall of Fame Tip-Off semifinal game between the two teams Saturday night.

Purdue shot a blistering 55.7 percent for the game, including 64.3 percent in the second half, and used terrific performances from Jaden Ivey, Sasha Stefanovic and Trevion Williams to pull away from the spirited Tar Heels, 93-84.

Carolina came into the game without the services of senior wing Leaky Black, who was unavailable due to a non-COVID-related illness. In his place, sophomore Kerwin Walton made his first start of the young season. But the star of the game for UNC was forward Dawson Garcia, who scored a season-high 26 points for the Tar Heels on 10-13 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers. Garcia had only scored 26 points combined in the first three games of the season.

“Coming into the game, I knew I’d be able to help out my team some way or another,” Garcia said. “I was just glad I could put some part in the fight tonight.”

“I thought Dawson was really aggressive to start the game,” said head coach Hubert Davis. “He was the only one of our bigs that was really effective around the basket, and also from the perimeter. That’s the beauty of Dawson’s game.”

Carolina needed every bit of Garcia’s offensive output, as junior forward Armando Bacot was saddled with foul trouble all evening. Bacot, who came into the night averaging 18 points per game, finished with just two before fouling out.

Garcia eventually fouled out as well, as Carolina’s big men could not stop Purdue’s frontcourt duo of Trevion Williams and seven-foot, four-inch Zach Edey. Williams and Edey combined for 29 points on the evening.

Every UNC run in the second half to chip away at Purdue’s lead was answered in kind by the Boilermakers. A three-pointer from Garcia gave Carolina a brief 65-64 advantage (their first and only lead of the night), but Purdue responded with a lightning-quick 10-0 run to take the lead right back. The Tar Heels then went on a 7-0 spurt of their own, but wouldn’t get closer than that 74-72 margin for the rest of the game.

Stefanovic and Ivey were key to keeping UNC at arm’s length. Stefanovic scorched the nets with 23 points and five three-pointers, while Ivey neared a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

“I love [Ivey] as a player,” Davis said. “He’s more impressive in person. This was the first time I saw him in person as opposed to on tape. Everyone talks of him as being a first-round, lottery pick type of player [in the NBA Draft]. He is that.”

R.J. Davis and Caleb Love both finished with 18 points for Carolina, but no other Tar Heel scored more than six. UNC finished with a 44.9 shooting percentage, their lowest of the season so far, and their first time shooting under 50 percent. Only eight players checked in for Hubert Davis in the absence of Black, and freshmen Dontrez Styles and D’Marco Dunn didn’t play at all.

The road doesn’t get any easier for the Tar Heels, as they’ll only have 24 hours to rest up before taking on No. 17 Tennessee in the tournament’s consolation game Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.

“I told [the team] this is a great opportunity for us to learn,” Davis said. “And the thing I’m really encouraged about is we can get a lot better, and we’ve got a lot to improve on.”

Featured image via Associated Press

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No. 6 Purdue Fights Off No. 18 UNC Basketball In High-Scoring Affair

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