It wasn’t pretty, but the UNC men’s basketball team was able to cruise to victory against UC Riverside Friday night in the Smith Center, 77-52.
𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐒 𝐖𝐈𝐍.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/C0GkrvcLpD
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) November 18, 2023
Carolina shot just 14-34 (41.2 percent) in a clunky first half of basketball, including a scoreless stretch of more than two minutes to finish the half. When including a pair of missed shots to begin the second half, the Tar Heels missed nine straight attempts over a span of 5:36 in the game’s middle section.
Fortunately for Carolina, Riverside was worse. Much, much worse.
The Highlanders managed just three points in the first 12 minutes of the second half shooting after staying competitive in the first. In fact, Riverside stayed in shouting distance after Carolina threatened to run away early: the Tar Heels exploded out to a 30-9 lead on the strength of powerful fast-break dunks from Seth Trimble and Armando Bacot, but the Highlanders ended the half on a 17-7 run to close to within 37-26.
The Highlanders somehow managed to match its first-half total of 26 points in the second, though its second-half shooting percentage of 28.1 dragged its overall numbers down to 30.6 (19-62).
“There are gonna be nights where we’re not shooting the ball well,” head coach Hubert Davis said. “But what is sustainable and what can happen every night is playing defense, rebounding and taking care of the basketball. The way that they responded in the second half defensively… I thought was really special.”
On offense, UNC’s 14-27 (51.6 percent) second half improved its game numbers to a good-but-not-great 28-61 (45.9 percent).
Bacot led all scorers with 21 points, but it was contributions from reserves Trimble and Jalen Washington which picked up for down nights from R.J. Davis (eight points) and Cormac Ryan (two points). Trimble and Washington combined to score 22 points on 9-12 shooting, with Washington knocking down the first two three-pointers of his collegiate career.
“It’s always been a part of my game,” said Washington. “Last year is last year. I’m just gonna keep shooting with confidence and keep playing.”
Trimble also made a three-pointer on his way to tying a career high 11 points. He’d scored just four combined points in the season’s first two games.
“It was nice to see him be really aggressive on the offensive end,” Davis said.
Now 3-0 on the young season, Carolina will head to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament over the Thanksgiving holiday. It will signal a seismic shift in UNC’s level of competition: after the tournament opener against Northern Iowa on Wednesday, the Tar Heels’ next seven games will all come against high-major opponents.
“It’s definitely gonna be a test,” Bacot said. “Somewhat like playing in the NCAA Tournament. So it’s a good tune-up for us. We’re going in there with a sense of urgency, knowing that every game counts. It’s gonna be a lot of fun and I definitely wanna win, [because] that way, Friday night, I can go gamble with Coach [Roy] Williams.”
Featured image via Todd Melet
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