Using a second-half surge, the No. 22 UNC men’s basketball team managed to rally back on Saturday afternoon in Cleveland to defeat the Kentucky Wildcats 75-63 in the CBS Sports Classic.
The Tar Heels (5-2) trailed by double-digits early in the first half—as they have so often this season—but were able to claw back and take the lead for good on a pair of free throws by freshman guard Kerwin Walton midway through the second.
Walton was a surprise performer for UNC, as he poured in a career-high 13 points for the Tar Heels—including 10 in the second half as UNC locked down defensively and held the Wildcats to just 25 points over the final 20 minutes.
Kentucky (1-5) became the first team all season to defeat the Tar Heels in the rebounding department, but the Wildcats’ inability to make shots down the stretch ultimately sent them to their fifth loss in just six games so far this season.
For head coach Roy Williams and company, this marks their second straight win and first over Kentucky since Luke Maye’s game-winner sent UNC to the Final Four back in 2017.
“I didn’t think we were very tough in the first half,” Williams told reporters afterwards. “They were more aggressive and they appeared that they wanted it more. In the second half, we cut down on all the second-shot points that they got a great deal of and then we got a bunch of them.
“It’s one game,” he added. “But I’m as pleased as I could possibly be for the team.”
In addition to Walton’s breakout performance off the bench, the Tar Heels also received a team-high 14 points from sophomore forward Armando Bacot and 11 points apiece from point guard Caleb Love and senior Garrison Brooks.
Bacot, Love and Brooks have been consistent scorers for the Tar Heels all season, but it was Walton’s perimeter shooting that made all the difference offensively.
The previously little-used freshman went 3-for-3 from long range while the rest of the UNC team combined to shoot just 2-for-17 from beyond the arc. Two of those came on back-to-back possessions in the second half, as the Tar Heels quickly turned a six-point Kentucky lead into a tie on the scoreboard—before Walton gave UNC the final lead change of the afternoon at the free throw line the next time down the floor.
“It was amazing, just seeing everybody so excited for me,” Walton said. “It kind of juiced me up, got me some energy inside. I definitely juiced the whole team up and we just came out guns blazing. We were excited.”
UNC is now finished with the non-conference portion of its schedule, with the 20-game gauntlet of ACC competition set to begin Tuesday at NC State.
It hasn’t always been pretty, with the team consistently falling into early deficits, but Bacot spoke for everyone on the team and made it clear that they won’t repeat last season’s mistakes—refusing to back down just because things get tough.
“We’ve been getting bad starts,” Bacot said. “We still have yet to put together a good two halves of basketball. But we went down early and they figured they would punk us. But it’s not last year. We’re not going for none of that [stuff] this year. We’re not. Excuse my language. But we’re not.”
Up Next:
The Tar Heels will play NC State in Raleigh on Tuesday at PNC Arena. Tip-off for that game is set for 9 p.m.
Game Notes:
Kentucky led by as many as 11 points early in the first half, marking the fifth time in the last six games that UNC has trailed by double digits before halftime.
UNC freshman guard R.J. Davis suffered a bruised knee
The Wildcats had three starters (Terrence Clarke, Olivier Sarr and Isaiah Jackson) foul out in the game.
Roy Williams is now 10-10 all-time against Kentucky, while UNC moves to 22-16 all-time against them.
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