Syracuse came out hot and stayed hot, shooting better than any team against North Carolina in nine years and the second best in 39 years, to beat the Tar Heels 86-79. (2/13)
Carolina managed to erase a nine-point second-half deficit to take a 65-64 lead with just over seven minutes to go after RJ Davis Euro-stepped through the lane for a bucket.
After a Syracuse timeout, the Orange had a tough time getting a shot off but J.J. Starling managed to throw up a 30-footer that banked in at the end of the shot clock to put the home team up 67-65. Carolina never caught up again.
“You’re not going to beat any team in the nation when they shoot 62 percent from the floor,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “Our defense didn’t play well enough to win the game.”
The Carolina defense wasn’t exactly bad but every Syracuse player on the floor was hitting contested shots. As a result, the Tar Heels led for only four minutes of the game.
“We just weren’t able to guard them one-on-one,” Coach Davis said. “In the first half we forced them to shoot contested twos but they were hitting them.”
Syracuse got the lead up to 10 in the first seven minutes of the game by hitting eight of their first 11 shots. They got leads up to 10 four different times in the first half before Carolina made a run.
Harrison Ingram, who was in foul trouble early, came back in late in the first half to hit back-to-back threes to put the Heels up 37-34. With less than three minutes left in the first half, Cormac Ryan drilled an open three from the left side to give the Heels their biggest lead at 40-36.
Starling, who later hit that wild 30-foot bank shot, scored twice in a row to provide Syracuse with a 42-all tie at the half.
Considering that Syracuse hit 63 percent in the first half – even better than the Orange did in the second half – the Heels were in a good spot with the score tied.
But, as it turned out, the Tar Heels lost the game in the first four minutes of the second half as Carolina failed to hit a field goal and were outscored 10-1. During the stretch, both Armando Bacot and Elliot Cadeau missed time after getting banged up on separate plays.
Syracuse, now 16-9 and 7-7 in the ACC, were led by Judah Mintz, who scored 25, and J.J. Starling, who scored 23.
The Tar Heels, who were led by Davis’ 19 points and Ryan’s 18 points, fall to 19-6 and 11-3 in the ACC with a game at home against Virginia Tech Saturday at 2 p.m.
For a box score and more on the game, please click here.