RJ Davis racked up 27 points and carried North Carolina during a second-half surge in an 88-79 victory against visiting Wake Forest on Wednesday night at Chapel Hill, N.C.
Davis, a guard, shot 9-for-14 from the field, hitting five 3-point shots.
Armando Bacot compiled 21 points and nine rebounds, and fifth-year player Leaky Black set a career high with 18 points as the Tar Heels (10-5, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) responded after Friday’s loss at Pittsburgh.
They did this without much impact from forward Pete Nance, who exited early in the first half with an injury. North Carolina didn’t commit a second-half turnover until the last 10 seconds.
Wake Forest (10-5, 2-2), which conquered Duke and Virginia Tech in home games to end 2022, couldn’t put together a three-game win streak despite Damari Monsanto’s 17 points. Tyree Appleby and Andrew Carr both tallied 16 points and Daivien Williamson had 12 points.
The Demon Deacons scored only eight points in the last five minutes.
North Carolina turned a 58-52 deficit into a 75-68 lead, capped by Caleb Love’s 3-pointer. That was a clutch basket because Love was 2-for-11 from the field, including 0-for-5 on 3s, until that jumper.
With North Carolina leading 61-60 with 11:15 remaining, there was a delay as a fan near the court received medical attention. The teams were given a couple of minutes to warm up after the stoppage.
Wake Forest led 38-37 at halftime, with statistics curiously even. The difference was that Wake Forest made five 3-point baskets compared to four 3s for North Carolina.
Both teams shot 12-for-28 from the field. Both teams were 9-for-12 on free throws. Both teams committed eight turnovers.
All eight Wake Forest turnovers came in the opening eight minutes. North Carolina didn’t hit a shot from the field in the last 5 1/2 minutes of the half. In the half, Love was 1-for-7 with four turnovers.
Riding 14 points from Black, who made three early 3s, the Tar Heels built a 33-27 lead.
Wake Forest scored the next six points as North Carolina went almost three minutes without scoring.
–Field Level Media
