North Carolina, paced my Caleb Love outside and Armando Bacot inside, crushed Boston College 91-65 in Chestnut Hills. (1/2)
Love led all scorers with 22 including nine points on three three pointers over a two minute, 30-second span early in the second half. Meanwhile, Bacot had yet another double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
After getting down 4-0, the Tar Heels outscored Boston College 21-4 over the next seven minutes to get out to a 21-8 lead that only increased with the Heels up 29 points, 49-20, at the half.
COVID protocols for BC moved the game from Saturday to Sunday while North Carolina hadn’t played since Dec. 21 after a game with Virginia Tech was postponed due to the pandemic. “We were off 11 days,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “We played intersquad scrimmages but it’s not like game action. The only way you get in game shape is to play in a game. Still, the energy, effort and toughness was there.”
Coach Davis said the defense succeeded in keeping the Eagles out of the paint and the offense was able to get out and run after gettings stops.
The Tar Heels led by more than 30 most of the second half with their largest margin being 36 at 84-48 after a Love driving layup with 6:45 left.
Carolina substituted freely after that, with every player suited up getting game time. As a result, BC outscored the Tar Heels the rest of the way by 10 points.
Coach Davis said that with a grueling ACC schedule coming up, Carolina is going to need Anthony Harris, Dontrez Styles and D’Marco Dunn to give the Heels some minutes.
Dunn said he believes Coach Davis is getting more confidence in him due to his better decision making and his attention to the little things. “Everybody wants to play,” Dunn said. “When everybody gets to play like today, it boosts morale.”
Interestingly, however, Coach Davis handcuffed the reserves over the last 25 seconds as he commanded them to dribble the clock out.
Joining Love and Bacot in double-figure scoring were R.J. Davis and Brady Manek who each scored 17 points.
North Carolina, now 10-3 and 2-0 in the ACC, play at Notre Dame Wednesday at 9 p.m. Boston College, which defeated Notre Dame in December, falls to 6-6 overall and 1-1 in the ACC.
For a box score and more on the game, please click here.