The good news: the UNC men’s basketball team couldn’t possibly have played worse than they did Saturday against Kentucky.
The bad news: the Tar Heels are still very much a work in progress.
Carolina fought through offensive struggles all night against Appalachian State Tuesday, but stepped up defensively and pulled away in the second half to take a 70-50 win in the Smith Center.
𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/mExTke4Xrq
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) December 22, 2021
The 50 points allowed are a season-best for the Carolina defense. Appalachian State shot a pedestrian 20-64 (31.3 percent) from the field, including 4-30 (13.3 percent) from behind the three-point line. The Mountaineers made only nine field goals in the second half.
“We didn’t really talk much about Kentucky and our game on Saturday,” head coach Hubert Davis said after the game. “One of the things we consistently talked about… for [you] to be the best that you can be, it is non-negotiable: you have to be clothed with energy, effort and toughness.”
Junior forward Armando Bacot showed toughness on the offensive end, once again pacing the Tar Heels with 16 points on 7-9 shooting. Bacot also grabbed 10 rebounds to secure his eighth double-double in 12 games this season, while stuffing the stat sheet with four assists, two steals and two blocks.
“He should get a double-double every game. He’s that good,” said graduate forward Brady Manek, who himself finished with a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. “He’s a big guy to guard. He’s hard to guard. They were trying to double him as much as they could tonight. He played really well.”
Sophomore guard R.J. Davis rebounded from a poor showing against the Wildcats with 15 points on the night on an efficient 7-10 from the field. He played a team-high 33 minutes in the game, despite leaving early in the first half after turning his ankle. Davis showed no signs of the injury in the second half, with several Mountaineer turnovers giving the sophomore fast break layups.
The biggest thrill of the night, though, came from sophomore guard Kerwin Walton. The sharpshooter, who didn’t play in the first half while mired in an early-season slump, finally broke out in the second by draining two three-pointers. Walton hadn’t scored since November 23 against UNC Asheville.
“I was very happy for Kerwin,” said R.J. Davis. “He came in when his number was called, and not just by making shots, but he was a tremendous factor on the defensive end. Making nice passes. Kerwin’s a big boost off the bench for us. I was proud of him.”
An energized Walton gave the Tar Heels a shot in the arm, propelling Carolina to open up a lead as wide as 25 points over the Mountaineers. That was enough to cruise to victory and a 9-3 record heading into the Christmas break. Still, Hubert Davis was not shy about expressing frustration with his team’s inconsistency: the “energy, effort and toughness” he demands from his team was sorely lacking in earlier losses.
“I don’t have an answer why,” Davis said. “All I know is, I never want to see that again.”
The Tar Heels will have eight days off before reconvening in the Smith Center for a date with Virginia Tech in the ACC home opener. Davis is hoping his players’ effort will have become second nature by then.
“Everyone says that in order to make something a habit, you have to do it at least 30 days,” he said. “So I challenged them. I said, ‘You bring energy, effort and toughness for 30 days and see what happens.'”
Featured image via Todd Melet. For a photo gallery of the game, click here.
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