By Bob Sutton
North Carolina did so much with so little from some normal key sources of production that the third-place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis ought to make the Tar Heels feel pretty good if not fortunate.
Headlining the performance was guard RJ Davis, who poured in 30 points as the No. 14 Tar Heels defeated No. 20 Arkansas 87–72 with a strong second half on the final day of the three-day tournament in Nassau, Bahamas.
This came after a semifinal loss in overtime a day earlier to Villanova.
“During these times, when things don’t go your way — even if they do — the only thing you have control over is how you react and how you respond,” North Carolina coach Hubert Davis told the Tar Heel Sports Network. “We needed to respond to what happened [Thursday] in a tough loss to Villanova and respond in the second half [Friday] after losing the lead late in the first.”
The Tar Heels (5–1) did all this with Armando Bacot contributing only nine points and four rebounds and starting wing Cormac Ryan sitting out after sustaining an ankle injury in the waning seconds a day earlier against Villanova.
So there was a level of toughness that rose to the surface.
“They are a tough group and they are a together group,” Coach Davis said. “The huddles, the communication, the encouragement is off the chart. … Coming back less than 24 hours and getting a win against Arkansas showed that.”
Davis, a senior guard, matched his career-high point mark on a day that included the first career start for freshman guard Elliot Cadeau. Jae’Lyn Withers was plugged into the first unit as well.
So third place in the Battle 4 Atlantis had to feel so much better than last year’s Thanksgiving weekend’s fourth-place spot in a tournament in Portland, Ore. Not only were there two wins instead of one, there was a more satisfying conclusion.
What was learned in the Bahamas?
“To beat us is going to be a hard game,” forward Harrison Ingram told the Tar Heel Sports Network.
Ingram posted 13 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore Seth Trimble came off the bench for career-best 12 points. Cadeau had seven points before fouling out.
The Tar Heels showed the ability to stand firm in difficult spots.
“They try to make it a dogfight type of game, and we can do that too,” Ingram said.
North Carolina went 14 of 17 on second-half free throws to finish at 25 of 35 from the line.
Davis shot 9-for-18 from the field and made all 10 free-throw attempts. His other 30-point game came in the overtime victory against Baylor in the second round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
Arkansas guard Tramon Mark racked up a career-best 34 points before leaving the court on a stretcher with 1:12 remaining after taking a scary tumble and apparently suffering a back injury. Before that, his production started to tail off under Tremble’s defensive presence.
“I’m thankful that we started to do a better job and he started missing some of those shots,” Coach Davis said.
A 23–11 North Carolina lead faded until the Razorbacks pulled even at 31. Carolina trailed 38-35 at halftime.
Bacot and RJ Davis were on the bench with two fouls and the Tar Heels went nearly six minutes without a field goal until Cadeau’s 3-pointer in the last minute of the half. There were just two field goals for Carolina in the last 10 minutes of the half.
By halftime, Mark was 8-for-8 from the field and the rest of the Razorbacks were 6-for-18.
North Carolina took 18 of the game’s first 24 free throws.
Bob Sutton is a veteran ACC sports writer who is the former North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year and was the sports editor of the Burlington Times-News for 25 years.
No. 14 UNC 87, No. 20 Arkansas 72
Battle 4 Atlantis
At Imperial Arena
Paradise Islands, Bahamas
Wednesday’s first-round results
No. 14 North Carolina 91, Northern Iowa 69
Villanova 85, Texas Tech 69
Memphis 71, Michigan 67
No. 20 Arkansas 77, Stanford 74, 2 OTs
Thursday’s semifinals
Villanova 83, No. 14 North Carolina 81, OT
Memphis 84, No. 20 Arkansas 79
Thursday’s losers’ bracket results
Texas Tech 72, Northern Iowa 70
Michigan 83, Stanford 78
Friday’s results
Consolation
No. 14 North Carolina 87, No. 20 Arkansas 72
Championship
Villanova 79, Memphis 63
Fifth-place game
Texas Tech 73, Michigan 57
Seventh-place game
Northern Iowa 73, Stanford 51
UNC season statistics
| Date | Month/day | Score | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 27 | Friday | W, 117–53 | vs. St. Augustine’s | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 6 | Monday | W, 86–70 | vs. Radford | 1–0 |
| 12 | Sunday | W, 90–68 | vs. Lehigh | 2–0 |
| 17 | Friday | W, 77–52 | vs. UC Riverside | 3–0 |
| Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas | ||||
| 22 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | Northern Iowa | 4–0 |
| 23 | Thursday | L, 83–81, OT | Villanova | 4–1 |
| 24 | Friday | W, 87–72 | Arkansas | 5–1 |
| ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | ||||
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 100–92 | vs. No. 6 Tennessee | 6–1 |
| December | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 78–70 | vs. Florida State | 7–1, 1–0 ACC |
| Jimmy V Classic in New York | ||||
| 5 | Tuesday | L, 87–67 | No. 1 Connecticut | 7–2 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 16 | Saturday | L, 87–83 | No. 12 Kentucky | 7–3 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 20 | Wednesday | W, 81–69 | Oklahoma | 8–3 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Friday | W, 105–60 | vs. Charleston Southern | 9–3 |
| January | ||||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 70–57 | at Pittsburgh | 10–3, 2–0 ACC |
| 6 | Saturday | W, 65–55 | at Clemson | 11–3, 3–0 ACC |
| 10 | Wednesday | W, 67–54 | at N.C. State | 12–3, 4–0 ACC |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 103–67 | vs. Syracuse | 13–3, 5–0 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 86–70 | vs. Louisville | 14–3, 6–0 ACC |
| 20 | Saturday | W, 76–66 | vs. Boston College | 15–3, 7–0 ACC |
| 22 | Monday | W, 85–64 | vs. Wake Forest | 16–3, 8–0 ACC |
| 27 | Saturday | W, 75–68 | at Florida State | 17–3, 9–0 ACC |
| 30 | Tuesday | L, 74–73 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 9–1 ACC |
| February | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | W, 93–84 | vs. No. 13 Duke | 18–4, 10–1 ACC |
| 6 | Tuesday | L, 80–76 | vs. Clemson | 18–5, 10–2 ACC |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 75–72 | at Miami | 19–5, 11–2 ACC |
| 13 | Tuesday | L, 86–79 | at Syracuse | 19–6, 11–3 ACC |
| 17 | Saturday | W, 96–81 | vs. Virginia Tech | 20–6, 12–3 ACC |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 54–44 | at Virginia | 21–6, 13–3 ACC |
| 26 | Monday | W, 75–71 | vs. Miami | 22–6, 14–3 ACC |
| March | ||||
| 2 | Saturday | W, 79–70 | vs. N.C. State | 23–6, 15–3 ACC |
| 5 | Tuesday | W, 84–51 | vs. Notre Dame | 24–6, 16–3 ACC |
| 9 | Saturday | W, 84–79 | at No. 13 Duke | 25–6, 17–3 ACC |
| ACC tournament Washington | ||||
| 14 | Thursday | W, 92–67 | Quarterfinals: Florida State | 26–6 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 72–65 | Semifinals: Pittsburgh | 27–6 |
| 16 | Saturday | L, 84–76 | Final: N.C. State | 27–7 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 21 | Thursday | W, 90–62 | First round in Charlotte: Wagner | 28–7 |
| 23 | Saturday | W, 85–69 | Second round in Charlotte: Michigan State | 29–7 |
| 28 | Thursday | L, 89–87 | Sweet 16 in Los Angeles: No. 19 Alabama | 29–8 |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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