Guard play propels UNC to first ranked win of the season

Ian Jackson and RJ Davis explode in the Tar Heels’ win over No. 18 UCLA!

There is no denying that the win on Saturday night can be largely credited to two of North Carolina’s guards, RJ Davis and Ian Jackson.

Together, they combined for 41 points as Jackson led the way with 24 points, and Davis chipped in another 17 points. Jackson also had four rebounds as did Davis with two assists. Trimble was the only other player in double figures with 12 points.

After the game, Jackson reiterated, via Inside Carolina, how hard it is to beat AP Top 25 teams, teams which they are now just 2-5 against.

There’s been several games where we’ve been close and kind of didn’t finish it. And it was just one of those games where we got it done. It showed us how hard winning is, definitely how hard winning is at every level, especially at this level. So to come out here and get that final stop and end the game on a stop, it was big for us.

When it came down to it, though, Davis gave the credit for the win to another guard, Seth Trimble.

I shouldn’t have missed the first free throw. I wouldn’t have got to the second free throw (attempts) if Seth didn’t get that stop in the diamond press. That’s the reason why he won the game. He was able to deflect the ball off of the guard’s leg, and we were able to get another chance.

North Carolina will look to a long week break over Christmas as they match up with Campbell next Sunday, December 29th.

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