Carolina fought back from a 10-point deficit in the second half to muscle past NC State at the Smith Center, 79-70.
𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/sqcuhoeuq3
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) March 2, 2024
Harrison Ingram led the Tar Heels with a season-high 22 points, nine of which came in the second-half rally. Carolina appeared ready to stretch its legs early, leading 36-31 midway through the first half. But a 14-1 Wolfpack run turned the tide heading into the locker room, and NC State led 45-37 at halftime. A basket early in the second half made it 47-37.
NC State then proceeded to miss 15 consecutive shots, a lull which lasted more than 10 minutes. During that stretch, Carolina moved in front 66-53 and never gave the lead back up.
“All year, for this team, it’s always the defense that fuels the offense,” said head coach Hubert Davis. “That’s what our team is. For us to be the best that we can be, we have to step it up on the defensive end.”
Things were going the opposite direction during NC State’s strong opening stanza. The Wolfpack’s 45 points came on 57.6 percent shooting. NC State’s 19 made shots in that half alone were more than the Wolfpack made in the entire first meeting on January 10, a 67-54 UNC win. D.J. Horne and Jayden Taylor combined for 28 in the half and made six of NC State’s seven threes.
“They were really making everything in the first half,” said Armando Bacot, who finished with 13 points and seven rebounds. “We knew we had to play harder and trust our defense.”
“In the second half,” said Ingram, “everyone took it more personal.”
Carolina played the second half with extra fire after some chippy play early in the second half. A foul on Elliot Cadeau sent the freshman point guard to the floor, and the teams came together in some pushing and shoving. After an extended stoppage (during which no additional fouls were called), Davis could be seen on the sideline getting fired up.
“He always talks about how he loves that stuff, loves when it gets chippy,” Ingram said. “So do I. He was like, ‘They don’t want it to be like this. They’re trying to make it chippy, they’re trying to act like they’re hard, but they didn’t really want it like that.'”
It was a three-pointer from Ingram which extended UNC’s lead to 66-53, capping off a 15-2 run during NC State’s shooting doldrums. A three-pointer from Taylor finally broke the drought with 8:52 remaining, 10:40 after the Wolfpack’s last made shot. It wasn’t enough to save NC State’s second-half shooting percentage: the Wolfpack finished 6-27 (22.2 percent) in the half, the lowest shooting percentage allowed by UNC in any half this season.
NC State hung tough for the remainder of the game and cut the deficit to 73-68 with 2:49 remaining, but four consecutive points by R.J. Davis in the next minute sealed the victory. Cadeau added a layup for good measure to give him 15 points. Cadeau also dished out seven assists against two turnovers. Davis had a quiet game by his lofty standards, finishing with 14 points after his 42-point outburst on Monday night.
“You can focus on one person, but there’s a number of parts to this team that allows us to be successful,” said Hubert Davis. “And that’s the sign of a pretty good team.”
The Tar Heels will be back in action against Notre Dame on Tuesday night for Senior Night at the Smith Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Featured image via Todd Melet
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Who I like the least between NC State and dook depends upon who we are playing that day…
Good win in CH, another season sweep, a game that required effort combined with a never give up attitude.
I love this team.