Carolina grinded past a tough Pittsburgh team in the ACC semifinals on Friday night, ousting the Panthers 72-65 to advance to the conference championship game on Saturday night.
𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/cVXsvERktx
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 16, 2024
“I’m super proud of this group, and the way we battled tonight,” said R.J. Davis, who finished with 25 points. “Pittsburgh’s a really good team. They play tough on both ends of the floor. So for us to come out with the win, that’s Carolina Basketball right there.”
Nineteen of Davis’ 25 came in the second half, including a tie-breaking three-pointer to give Carolina a 65-62 lead with 4:03 to go. Pittsburgh had rallied with an 11-4 run, erasing a UNC lead that had grown to as large as seven points. Another Davis three with 2:24 remaining served as the backbreaker, extending Carolina’s lead to 69-62. Pittsburgh made just one shot in the final four minutes. Davis, meanwhile, has joined Justin Jackson in 2016-17 as just the second Tar Heel to make 100 threes in a single season.
“All year, R.J.’s been our closer,” said Armando Bacot. “In moments like that, it’s a huge luxury to know you can put the ball in our guard’s hands, and he’ll either make the shot or make the right play.”
It was a stark turnaround from the first half, when Pitt led by as many as nine amid a Carolina scoring drought that stretched on for nearly five minutes. The Panthers led 35-33 at halftime despite All-ACC first team honoree Blake Hinson remaining scoreless. He ended his night with only five points on 2-12 shooting after averaging nearly 19 points per game this season.
“I took that matchup personally,” said Harrison Ingram, Hinson’s primary defender. “They put him on first team and put me on third team, and I think I’m better than him, personally.”
Ingram wasn’t the only Tar Heel playing with some extra fire on Friday night. Seth Trimble took on the difficult assignment of containing Pittsburgh’s dangerous backcourt. Though Carlton ‘Bub’ Carrington and Jaland Lowe combined for 41, ACC Sixth Man of the Year Ishmael Leggett scored just six. Like Hinson, he was scoreless in the first half.
“Leggett was Sixth Man of the Year. I thought otherwise,” said Trimble, who finished with five points and made his first three since January 10. “I just wanted to go out there and do what I can to help the team win.”
A vintage Bacot performance keyed UNC’s second-half push, one which outscored Pitt 23-14 over the first 10:42. He finished with 19 points (on 8-13 shooting), 11 rebounds (five offensive), three assists, two blocks and a steal. Now, the man who has started more than 160 games in a Tar Heel uniform will do something he’s never done before: play in an ACC Championship Game.
“We’ve worked so hard this year,” Bacot said. “Coaches, players, we’ve all been locked in. We’ve been a family. It’s just been a fun ride. To go out with a championship would be huge.”
No. 1 seed Carolina is now 27-6 overall and will face the winner of No. 3 Virginia and No. 10 NC State in the championship game on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m.
Featured image via Associated Press/Susan Walsh
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