North Carolina got off to a little bit of a sluggish start in their matchup against No. 16 Wagner on Thursday to open up their 2024 NCAA Tournament run. But a big second half helped seal the deal in a 90-62 win over the Seahawks.
The Tar Heels had two starters hit 20-plus points as Armando Bacot finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds, while RJ Davis had 22 points. But their most important contribution came from the bench.
With the Tar Heels needing a bit of a spark, Charlotte native Jae’Lyn Withers provided that.
The forward scored 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds in the win. He was UNC’s best player on both ends for most of the game and kept Wagner an arms’ distance for the first half.
Then the second-half run happened.
After the Tar Heels took a 40-28 lead at the break, they opened up an 18-point lead before the Seahawks battled back to cut it down to 12 again. But that’s as close as they would get.
UNC sealed it with a 30-14 run over the final 10 minutes to take home the win and advance to Saturday. The Tar Heels will play No. 9 seed Michigan State who beat No. 8 Mississippi State in the earlier game in Charlotte.
60-48
Player of the Game
Jae’Lyn Withers deserves it. While the game never really felt in doubt for UNC, Withers made sure the Seahawks couldn’t get close. He had a big first half and was able to get to the line and get rebounds to lead the Tar Heels before both Bacot and Davis figured things out in the second half.
It was huge to get a contribution off the bench from someone like Withers.
What’s next?
Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans loom on Saturday in Charlotte. It will be a tough matchup for the Tar Heels as the Spartans looked good in their win earlier on Thursday.