Carolina shook off some second-half jitters against Louisville in the Smith Center to earn an 86-70 win, the team’s seventh in a row. With the win, the Tar Heels remain a perfect 6-0 in ACC play.
𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/PTb58HmyNe
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) January 18, 2024
Graduate wing Jae’Lyn Withers had his best game in a Carolina uniform against his former team. Withers gave the Tar Heels a boost off the bench with 15 points and 10 rebounds, both season highs. It’s his sixth career double-double and first with UNC.
“It was definitely special,” Withers said of his performance. “Not only to have my first double-double as a Tar Heel, but to have that against my previous team… I think that alone says it all.”
“We just don’t win this game without ‘J-Wit,'” said head coach Hubert Davis. “He was fantastic, and we needed him to have his best game of the season. I’m really proud of him.”
It looked like the Tar Heels would have another easy day at the office early on, as Carolina blazed out of the gate by shooting 11-15 and opening up a lead as large as 20 points late in the first half. Its defense held Louisville to a mere one assist in the half.
But the Cardinals stayed the course and steadily chipped away at the lead, whittling it down to as little as five points at 55-50 midway through the second half. Louisville forged its comeback with an amazing shooting performance, as the Cardinals made nine of their first 10 shots of the second half.
“We weren’t playing any defense,” Davis said. “In the huddle, I told them, ‘They’re shooting 90 percent from the field. It’s hard to do that by yourself in the gym with nobody guarding you… if you want things to change, then we’re gonna have to defend.'”
Thanks to Louisville cooling off down the stretch, and some timely buckets from R.J. Davis, Withers and Armando Bacot, the Tar Heel lead never shrank below its low watermark of five points. The Cardinals shot 7-15 after their 9-10 start to the half. On the other end, Carolina made its final five shots of the half, including a three-pointer from Davis to move the lead back to 16 with 3:18 remaining and put the game on ice. It was another outstanding night for Davis, who ended with 21 points, six rebounds, six assists and just one turnover. It’s Davis’ first ever collegiate game with a 20/6/6 statline.
Withers made his presence known in his 24 minutes of game action, registering a team-high +24 rating. For Bacot, his 19 points moved him past Lennie Rosenbluth into fourth place on Carolina’s all-time scoring list. In addition, Bacot’s seven rebounds moved him past Virginia’s Ralph Sampson into fourth on the ACC’s all-time rebounding list. But the fifth-year center missed out on another double-double. According to him, it was on purpose.
“Today, I was gonna make sure [Withers] got a double-double,” he said. “That’s why I didn’t get a double-double. I was just boxing out, trying to give him all the easy rebounds.”
Carolina’s seven-game winning streak is its longest since the 2018-19 season. The Tar Heels will now take a trip up north to visit Boston College, with tip-off at Conte Forum scheduled for 2:15 p.m. on Saturday.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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