After leading by more than 30 in the second half, the Tar Heels had to sweat it out a bit late.
UNC won their fourth straight game with a 87-77 victory against Syracuse in Chapel Hill Monday night. The Orange, who were left for dead halfway through the second half, picked themselves up off the mat and made it a game with a big run late. The Tar Heels led by as many as 32 in the second half before things got a little ugly late in the game, but UNC was ultimately able to hang on for the win.
The Heels built a healthy 46-32 halftime lead and ran it up further in the second half. For much of the game, Donnie Freeman was really the only reason the Orange weren’t on the receiving end of a huge blow out. He scored 18 points in the first half before a much quieter second half to finish with 23 points to lead Syracuse.
Carolina’s massive lead shrank considerably in the last few minutes of the game and Syracuse went on a 35-10 run. The Heels had been so far ahead that they could weather the big swing, but Hubert Davis was forced to put the starters back in the game with just over two minutes left to try and stop the bleeding. Syracuse cut the deficit to seven with just over a minute to go. Free throws from Jarin Stevenson and Seth Trimble were able to slam the door.
Caleb Wilson did what we’ve come to expect from him as he put up 22 points and nine rebounds. He scored 10 of his points at the free throw line. Henri Veesaar chipped in another double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Jonathan Powell scored 12 points off the bench with three made three-pointers before he fouled out late. Luka Bogavac also finished in double figures with 10 points.
Syracuse was shooting abysmally from the field for a lot of the second half, but they finished shooting just better than the Heels at 45% to 42% in the last 20 minutes. UNC held the edge in three-pointers made with eight and really took advantage of a big free throw discrepancy. Carolina made 25 of their 35 attempts. Syracuse, another team that has struggled at the line this season, made 13 of their 19.
Games before the Duke game have been an issue for Carolina in years past. It looked like that wouldn’t be an issue in this one until things got dicey late. It was an unnecessary elevating of fans’ blood pressures in the end, but it was alarming to watch it play out in real time nonetheless.
UNC meets Duke for the first time this season in Chapel Hill on Saturday.
Category: General Sports
