Wake Forest, which hit 15 more free throws than North Carolina, went on a 10-0 run in the second half to propel the Demon Deacons to a 67-66 home victory over the fading Tar Heels. (1/22)
It was the fourth straight time the Deacons have beaten the Heels at home, equaling a mark set 60 years ago.
UNC coach Hubert Davis said the difference in the game was the Deacons’ “ability to get to the free-throw line and make their free throws. And our inability to get to the free-throw line and our inability to knock down some open looks that just didn’t go in.”
North Carolina committed 23 fouls compared to Wake’s 17 and the Tar Heels were only six of 10 from the free throw line while Wake was 21 of 27. Neither team shot well from the floor but Carolina missed some open opportunities, especially with the game on the line.
While the Tar Heels led for 17 minutes in the first half, pushing the lead to as many as nine points, they were only up 31-29 at the break. “We were very fortunate to be down only two at the half,” Wake coach Steve Forbes said. “A lot of that was due to the fact that we put a lot of pressure on them and forced them to foul us, and we made free throws.”
Then, in the second half with the score tied at 39, Carolina hit a dry spell and that’s when Wake took control, going on that 10-0 run to go up 49-39.
During the run, Carolina missed a number of open shots including four open threes. In fact, the Heels missed eight straight three-point attempts in the second half before RJ Davis and Eliot Cadeau hit back-to-back threes to pull the Heels within a bucket at 51-49 with just over seven minutes to play.
Carolina was able to take the lead back after a Ven-Allen Lubin dunk and a Jae’lyn Withers three from the right wing that made it 54-53 with five minutes to go. But Wake’s Tre’Von Spillers scored twice within 40 seconds and Carolina never tied or took the lead again.
The Deacons, who went to a zone at times, upped the lead to nine at 65-56 with a little over a minute left before a late rally by the Tar Heels fell short. Davis hit a three at the buzzer for the final tally.
“We had some open shots and good looks,” Coach Davis said. “Sometimes shots go in and some things they don’t.
Wake’s Cameron Hildreth, who was 10 of 12 from the line, led the Deacons, now 15-4 and 7-1 in the ACC, with 20 points. Davis led Carolina, now 12-8 overall and 5-3 in the ACC, with 19 points but it was Cadeau who managed a double-double with 14 points and 13 assists.
North Carolina, losers of two in a row, host Boston College Saturday at 2:15 pm before a tough stretch of games against Pitt, Duke, Clemson and Syracuse.
