The UNC men’s basketball program took on the Virginia Cavaliers Saturday, looking for their first win in John Paul Jones Arena since 2012.
UNC was not only playing to break their losing streak in Charlottesville, they also had extra motivation to create a gap in the ACC standings with Wake Forest upsetting Duke.
And they left Charlottesville ending a 12-year drought with a 54-44 win on Saturday afternoon, giving them sole possession of first place in the ACC.
North Carolina is known for their fast-paced offense that often jump-start them into big leads, but the first half painted a different picture. Instead of scoring, it was UNC’s juggernaut defense, holding UVA to 16.7%(5/30) from the field.
Tar Heels had some offensive issues, with their leading scorer [autotag]RJ Davis[/autotag] failing to score a point the first period. However, the Tar Heels did get a spark by Cormac Ryan who was responsible for 15 of 26 UNC first-half points.
The second half saw UNC ten ten-point lead evaporate with the Cavaliers finding their offense. Despite making the game interesting a few times, the Tar Heels held control for the majority of the half, ballooning their lead back into double digits a few times.
Closing out has been an issue for UNC this season, and appeared to be on the horizon again with UVA flirting with a comeback in the final moments. However, the Tar Heels was able to stand on business beating the Cavilers 54-44 to end their 12-year drought of not winning in Charlottesville.
Player of the Game
Player of the game belongs to [autotag]Cormac Ryan[/autotag], who stepped up in a big way for UNC. Davis struggled from the floor, scoring 12 points, causing another Tar Heel to carry the scoring load.
That Tar Heel was no other than Ryan, who finished with 18 points, becoming a marksman from deep with six threes. This game marked Ryan’s third straight time scoring 15 points or more.
What’s Next
Next up for the Tar Heels is a home game against the Miami Hurricanes with only a day break in between. Thankfully for the Tar Heels, this game falls on Monday, and not bad luck on Tuesday, where a string of bad losses has happened.
UNC played the Hurricanes earlier this month, escaping the Hurricanes’s trap with a 75-72 road win. A regular season sweep is in play for the Tar Heels, but they will be hoping to win this one more convincing.
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