Cormac Ryan delivers when Tar Heels needed him most

Cormac Ryan was an offensive bright spot in an otherwise ugly game for UNC on Saturday afternoon, scoring 18 points in the win at UVA.

Anytime you play against the UVA men’s basketball team, you’re not going to be scoring a bunch of points.

Such was the case for the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon, who suffered through arguably their worst offensive output on the season.

Despite shooting only 32 percent from the field against the Cavaliers, UNC won in Charlottesville, 54-44, for the first time since Feb. 25, 2012.

What North Carolina missed in offensive production from nearly its entire team on Saturday, it received big-time from starting small forward Cormac Ryan. The Notre Dame transfer scored in double-digits for the third-consecutive game, dropping 18 points by knocking down six threes.

Ryan scored 15 of his 18 before the half, perhaps the greatest reason UNC led at this point. If Ryan hadn’t exploded offensively, the Tar Heels could’ve easily finished the game under 50 points.

After going four consecutive games without hitting the 10-point mark, Ryan is finding his shooting stroke at the right time. The more scoring contributions North Carolina can get from players in addition to RJ Davis and Armando Bacot, the better position it’ll be in for postseason play.

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