UNC Basketball: Tar Heels struggle but hold on against Davidson
UNC holds on against Davidson to stay unbeaten at home this season
It wasn’t the prettiest of games for the North Carolina Tar Heels on Wednesday night against Davidson but they did manage to avoid the upset.
UNC was playing without star point guard Joel Berry for the first time this season after he suffered an ankle sprain in Sunday’s win.
While the first half was a sloppy one, UNC still had a double-digit lead at halftime. But then it almost came crumbling down.
The Wildcats kept it close in the first half led by senior guard Jack Gibbs who was trying to lead them to the upset. They played with UNC and weren’t intimidated from the start.
But the Tar Heels started to pull away early in the second half.
UNC kept their double-digit lead for most of the second half, pushing it out to a 16-point lead at one point.
Junior forward Justin jackson paved the way for the Tar Heels in the second half, finishing with 27 points including 7 three-pointers in the game. Jackson was feeling it and the Tar Heels weren’t shying away from getting him the ball.
Then the Tar Heels started to go cold.
The Wildcats cut that 16-point lead down to three within the 2-minute mark and it had that feeling of disaster. UNC didn’t score a field goal for over three minutes late in the game, allowing the Wildcats the chance to tie.
UNC got a turnover and sealed the deal at the end with free throws to move to 9-1 on the season and 4-0 at home.
Gibbs led all scorers with 30 points but Jackson was close behind with 27.
Senior guard Nate Britt got the start in place of Berry for the Tar Heels. He struggled to score, finishing the game with just two points.
After his impressive performance against Radford, sophomore Kenny Williams earned another start. He scored just six points on 2-of-4 shooting.
The Tar Heels now turn their attention to Tennessee, who comes to the Dean Dome on Sunday afternoon. Berry’s status is uncertain for that game. With a tougher opponent in the Volunteers, UNC will need to clean up some sloppiness.
Check back with Keeping it Heel for coverage on UNC’s game against Tennessee.
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