Wake Forest used a pair of key second-half runs to pull away from Carolina in Winston-Salem on Tuesday night and deal the Tar Heels a 67-66 loss. It’s UNC’s fourth straight loss on the road against the Demon Deacons.

The Tar Heels led by nine points early at 16-7, but a plethora of turnovers and fouls helped the Deacons nose their way back into the game. Wake Forest made 13 of its 16 free throw attempts in the first half as officials called 27 total fouls between the two teams. The clunky play also saw the two teams combine for 17 turnovers. Carolina led 31-29 at halftime.

But Wake Forest shook off its offensive doldrums in the second half, using a 12-0 run to flip a 39-37 UNC lead into a 49-39 advantage for the Deacons. It was Carolina’s largest deficit of the evening.

The Tar Heels managed to edge back in front briefly on a three-pointer from Jae’Lyn withers to make the score 54-53 with 5:21 to go. So began Wake Forest’s second key run, a 12-2 spurt which gave the Deacons a nine-point lead at 65-56 with 1:17 to go. Despite UNC scoring 10 points in the final 38 seconds, Wake Forest’s lead was safe.

R.J. Davis led all scorers with 21 points, though his final three came on an effectively meaningless shot as the buzzer sounded. Wake’s Cameron Hildreth led the Deacons with 20 points, 10 of which came at the free throw line. Overall, the Demon Deacons shot 27 free throws to UNC’s 10. Wake Forest also held a decisive advantage in rebounding (41-33) despite coming into the evening with a negative rebounding differential.

The loss drops Carolina to 12-8 overall and 5-3 in ACC play. It’s also the first time since the 2022-23 season UNC has lost consecutive games in conference play. The Tar Heels will be back in action when they host Boston College at the Smith Center on Saturday at 2:15 p.m.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Chuck Burton

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