Carolina fought back from a second-half deficit and gutted out a Hurricane comeback attempt to earn a 75-72 win at Miami on Saturday. It’s head coach Hubert Davis’ first win against the Hurricanes.

 

R.J. Davis, Elliot Cadeau, Harrison Ingram and Armando Bacot each reached double figures for the Tar Heels, with Davis leading the way with 25 points. His five made three-pointers ensured his school-record streak of consecutive games with multiple made threes extended to 21. Cadeau poured in 19 to set a collegiate career high, all while adding eight assists and four steals.

Bacot, doing battle with Miami’s Norchad Omier in the paint, registered his 79th career double-double with 10 points (eight of which came in the second half) and 15 rebounds. In the process, he passed Tim Duncan to move into third place on the ACC’s all-time rebounding leaderboard.

UNC was hard-pressed to score in the final minutes though, as the Tar Heels didn’t make a single shot in the last 4:07 of the game. That stretch saw Miami nearly claw all the way back from what had been a 12-point Carolina lead midway through the second half. The Hurricanes cut that lead to three points two separate times and nearly completed the comeback thanks to missed free throws from Cadeau, Ingram and Cormac Ryan in the final 1:34. Carolina missed eight free throws on the day. UNC escaped a potential tying three attempt from Miami thanks to a violation on a Miami free throw with two seconds left, giving the ball back to the Tar Heels.

Carolina exploded out of the gate with a 20-8 lead, but hot outside shooting from Nijel Pack and strong post play from Omier helped the Hurricanes reel the Tar Heels back in and eventually overtake them. Miami had led by as many as four points late in the first half and early in the second, but a 22-6 Carolina run flipped a 44-40 deficit into a 62-50 lead. Four consecutive free throws from Davis after a technical foul on Omier and six points from Bacot fueled the run.

Pack finished with 20 points and four made threes. Omier also finished with 20, but the pair combined for just six points in the second half.

Carolina is now 19-5 overall and 11-2 in ACC play, one game ahead of both Duke and Virginia. The team has already matched its ACC win total from last season.

Seth Trimble missed his second consecutive game with an upper-body injury, but he did travel with the team down to Miami. The Tar Heels will hope to get him back when they visit Syracuse on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

 

Featured image via Associated Press/Rebecca Blackwell

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
'I Wouldn't Change Anything': Veteran Tar Heels Reflect After Sweet 16 Loss vs. Alabama
What made this UNC group special to head coach Hubert Davis was how it embodied his ideals of connectedness on and off the basketball court.
Relive UNC Men's Basketball's 2023-24 Season in 23 Photos:
Another UNC men’s basketball season is in the books, as the Tar Heels finish 2023-24 with a 29-8 record. The team fell short of beating Alabama in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament after earning the ACC regular season title and reaching the ACC Tournament Championship game. Relive the highs and lows of the […]
Chansky's Notebook: Sad Ending
R.J. Davis and Armando Bacot are already among UNC’s best players ever, and they will be remembered for that more than this last loss.
Alabama Uses Late Run to Knock Off UNC Men's Basketball in NCAA Sweet 16
Alabama star Grant Nelson took over late in the second half against No. 1 seed Carolina in the Sweet 16 Thursday night in Los Angeles, sparking a late Crimson Tide run to stun the Tar Heels and end their season, 89-87. Nelson, a transfer from North Dakota State, finished with 24 points, 19 of which […]
Chansky's Notebook: Best of the West
If the oddsmakers are right, it will be Arizona and UNC on Saturday in Los Angeles for a trip to the Final Four.
UNC Men's Basketball in the 2024 NCAA Tournament: How to Watch, Cord-Cutting Options and Tip-Off Time
The UNC men’s basketball team will face No. 4 seed Alabama in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 on Thursday night in Los Angeles. The Crimson Tide defeated No. 13 seed College of Charleston and No. 12 seed Grand Canyon in the first two rounds of the tournament. The Tar Heels are the No. 1 seed […]
UNC Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament Opponent Breakdown: Alabama
No. 4 seed Alabama will face off against No. 1 seed Carolina in the Sweet 16 on Thursday night in Los Angeles. The Crimson Tide finished third in the SEC regular-season standings and defeated No. 13 seed College of Charleston and No. 12 seed Grand Canyon in the opening two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. […]
Chansky's Notebook: Pay The Right Way
As UNC is back in the limelight, NIL opportunities have happened almost organically for a school always in the national conversation.
Chansky's Notebook: 4 Out of 5 Ain't Bad
The ACC was relegated to “medium” space during the regular season and received five NCAA bids, when two or three more should have made it.
UNC Men's Basketball Muscles Past Michigan State, Advances to Sweet 16
Carolina used a 25-6 run at the end of the first half to erase an early 12-point deficit and held off Michigan State in the second half to win 85-69 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday evening. With the win, UNC advances to its 38th regional semifinal appearance in program history. […]
›