UNC’s struggling defense found no solutions Saturday afternoon at Cal, as the Bears torched the Tar Heels in the first half and built what turned out to be an insurmountable lead. Despite Carolina mounting a furious comeback attempt in the second half, it fell 84-78 for its third loss in the last four games.
Carolina allowed 54 Cal points in the first half, its poorest defensive performance in any half against an ACC opponent since 2008. The Bears used an early 16-3 run to take a 13-point lead inside of 10 minutes, and the hole deepened from there to 19 points at 54-35 before a late layup from Derek Dixon – making his first collegiate start for UNC – made the score 54-37 at halftime.
The lead grew to as large as 20 points early in the second half, giving the Tar Heels their largest deficit of the season. It sat at 74-55 in favor of the Bears as late as the 8:26 mark before UNC mounted a desperate rally. The Tar Heels used a 19-3 stretch to get as close as 77-73 with 3:21 remaining, but they would only make one more field goal (a late Henri Veesaar three-pointer) before the final buzzer sounded. Carolina’s free throw struggles continued, as the team finished just 17-28 (60.7 percent) at the line. Cal made 12 of its 16 free throw attempts.
The Bears built their massive first half lead thanks to a 19-34 (55.9 percent) shooting performance, which included a sizzling 10-16 (62.5 percent) mark from three. The Bears’ John Camden scored 16 points – more than any Tar Heel not named Caleb Wilson scored in the entire game – in the first half alone. Camden finished his night with 20 points, including a huge three to beat the shot-clock buzzer as UNC was attempting its rally late in the second half. Dai Dai Ames and Justin Pippen – son of NBA legend Scottie Pippen – each scored 19 for Cal. For UNC, Wilson led the way with 17 points. Veesaar and Dixon both scored 14, with Veesaar adding 10 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season.
Though the two teams finished tied with 34 rebounds, Cal took advantage of its eight offensive rebounds with 18 second-chance points, compared to UNC’s 10. Thirteen of those 18 second-chance points came in the first half. The Tar Heels never led.
Saturday’s loss drops UNC to 14-4 overall and 2-3 in ACC play. The Tar Heels will return from their west coast trip when they host Notre Dame at the Smith Center Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Featured image via Associated Press/Jed Jacobsohn
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