Sizzling second half lifts Tar Heels past Wake Forest
North Carolina had arguably its best offensive performance this season in the second half of its 80-73 win over Wake Forest on Wednesday in the Dean E. Smith Center.
The Tar Heels (9-5, 4-3 ACC) shot a season-high 54.8% in the second half. That performance was powered by forward Armando Bacot scoring 14 of his 18 points and Caleb Love netting 12 of his career-high 20 points all in the second half.
UNC coach Roy Williams said he emphasized getting the ball inside during halftime because he thought they weren’t utilizing their size advantage in the frontcourt enough.
“I’d like them to get the ball every single time,” Williams said. “At halftime, Wake Forest’s post players had zero fouls.”
The Heels did a much better job of focusing on touches for the post in the second half, and it opened up quality shots for everyone else.
Love had struggled since scoring his season-high 17 points in the opener against College of Charleston. But his play of late seems to indicate he’s beginning to find a shooting rhythm. Love was 7-for-12 from the field including two 3-pointers. He entered the game shooting 21% from behind the arc, but has made 10 of his last 25 attempts from 3 over the past six games.
“He made strides against FSU (Florida State) and tonight,” Bacot said. “I hope it can be a springboard.”
Wake stayed close as it bombarded the Tar Heels with 3-pointers. The Deacons made eight of their 13 overall in the second half. And when Day’Ron Sharpe was slow to rotate to protect the rim on a Daivien Williamson drive, Wake cut its deficit to 62-59 with 5:44 left.
That’s when Carolina showed the intensity it lacked much of the first half. Leaky Black made a jumper from the left wing. Love rebounded his own miss and was fouled while converting it. Love completed a three-point play that led directly into UNC using full-court pressure.
R.J. Davis got a steal off Isaiah Mucius from their trap, and Black flipped the ball to Bacot streaking down the lane for a dunk. The 7-0 spurt gave Carolina a 69-59 lead, and Wake could never get closer than seven for the remaining 4:45.
The Deacons (3-6, 0-6) got career-highs from Mucius and Williamson, who each had 27 points. Williams called Williamson “hard to handle,” but saved his biggest praise for Wake coach Steve Forbes. The Deacs have been competitive and even had second-half leads in all of the ACC games they’ve lost.
“Tonight was what has been happening to them all year,” Williams said. “I told Steve, I liked what he’s doing. It doesn’t get him a raise by me saying that.”
Here are updates from earlier:
Heels lead heading into final stretch
The Tar Heels used a 14-2 run to start the second half to take their biggest lead of the game at 45-35. It didn’t take long for Wake to cut into it though.
UNC coach Roy Williams decided to place his best defender Black on Williamson, who torched the Heels for 14 points in the first half. Black held Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim scoreless in the second half after he had 18 first-half points. Black has rendered Williamson mostly ineffective in the second half, but Wake had another hot hand.
Mucius, who leads the Deacs with 20 points, made three of his seven 3-pointers within a 90 second stretch to pull Wake within 47-44 at 13:00 left.
When Williamson finally made his first shot of the second half, with 11:11 left, it was because Carolina defenders were out of place scrambling for a loose ball on the floor. Williamson took advantage by burying a 3-pointer and Wake would tie the score at 53.
The Heels have scored the last five points to take a 58-53 lead with 7:48 left. But Bacot, who leads the team with 13 points, is sitting on the bench with four fouls.
Wake Forest leads at half
The Demon Deacons took a 33-31 lead into intermission thanks to a Williamson 3-pointer that gave them a five-point lead. Love answered with his second 3-pointer of the first half with five seconds left.
Love has been the lone bright spot for the Tar Heels in the first half. He leads the team with eight points on 3-for-4 shooting from the floor. Love has also had two blocked shots and a steal defensively.
Williamson is the second straight visitor to light up the Dean E. Smith Center in the first half. The 6-foot-2 guard who transferred from East Tennessee State to join Wake’s first-year coach Steve Forbes, had 14 points to lead all scorers. Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim had 18 points in the first half last Tuesday in UNC’s win.
Heels off to slow start
Carolina has gotten out to the type of slow start that characterized how it played last month. The Heels connected on just five of their first 20 shots from the field and were shooting just 29% as they trailed 18-15 with 7:01 left.
The Deacons have done a good job keeping UNC off the boards, outrebounding them 15-13 and limiting them to just two second chance points.
Starting lineups
North Carolina: Caleb Love, Kerwin Walton, Leaky Black, Armando Bacot, Garrison Brooks.
Wake Forest: Isaiah Mucius, Davian Williamson, Jonah Anthonio, Ismael Massoud, Ody Oguama
Keep an eye on
▪ UNC redshirt freshman Anthony Harris provided a burst of energy off the bench against Florida State, scoring five points with three assists in just nine minutes. He’ll be eased into more minutes, but still will be limited.
▪ Carolina will enjoy a considerable size advantage inside, but Wake Forest could benefit offensively when the Heels’ bigs have to defend on the perimeter. Wake forward Ismael Massoud is shooting 41% from 3-point range.
▪ The Heels have averaged 18.0 second-chance points per game, which is the highest they have in the last 10 seasons. Second on the list was the 2017 national championship team that averaged 17.6 second-chance points per game.
This story was originally published January 20, 2021 at 6:37 PM.