By R.L. Bynum
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — No. 4 North Carolina again made an opponent pay for putting the Tar Heels on the free-throw line.
UNC didn’t shoot that well from the floor in the second half but made 14 of 15 free-throw attempts after halftime, as the Heels extended their win streak to eight with a workman-like 76–66 victory Saturday over Boston College at Conte Forum.
Putting Carolina (15–3, 7–0 ACC) in the bonus with 11:13 left is never a good idea, which Boston College (11–7, 2–5) found out the hard way. The Tar Heels showed they know how to finish by scoring on 10 of their last 11 possessions.
“It’s a huge part of our game,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis, whose team outrebounded BC 43–28 and has won the rebounding battle for seven consecutive games. “We always say that we want to dominate points in the paint with post penetration and offensive rebounds, and that gives you an opportunity to get fouled and get to the free-throw line.
UNC’s proficiency at the free-throw line made up for 29.4% shooting from 3-point range with only five 3-pointers.
RJ Davis (16 points, six rebounds, four assists) led four Tar Heels scoring in double figures, along with Cormac Ryan (14 points, three rebounds), Harrison Ingram (11 points, 13 rebounds, two assists) and Armando Bacot (10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks.)
“We always talk about how you’re going to react and how you’re going to respond when good and bad things happen,” said Coach Davis, noting that his team only turned the ball over twice after committing nine first-half turnovers. “And that’s the only thing that you have control over, and I was really proud of how our team reacted and responded.”
Eagles center Quinten Post made scoring inside a challenge for UNC, and got Bacot, who didn’t get off a first-half shot, in early foul trouble. Bacot played the last 18 minutes after fouling Post for his third foul, and was a warrior for the Tar Heels down the stretch.
Post drew his third foul with 14½ minutes left and his fourth a few minutes later. He led BC with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
“It showed he didn’t get frustrated with the first half and he stayed poised and disciplined on the defensive end and continued throughout the game and not get a fourth foul,” Coach Davis said of Bacot. “That was huge for us to have him out there. But the free throws? The growth in his free throws? It’s just huge, and then that jumper right there at the free-throw line? Mondo was really good today.”
Bacot gave Coach Davis the thumbs-up after picking up his third foul. It must have been convincing because Bacot played all but four minutes the rest of the way.
“The third foul, he played good defense, but at the last second, he pulled down his hands, and you can’t do that,” said Coach Davis, who told Bacot he needed him in the game. “He was really good after that. So, I did trust him.”
Bacot said that Davis had taken him out before when he offered a thumbs-up before, but it was different this time.
“I think that last one it was one of those where I was like, ‘OK, enough is enough, I’m going to stop fouling,’ ” Bacot said. “[Post] would have missed that shot, and I got him a little on his elbow.”
Ingram, who played a good all-around game and got his fourth double-double, credited Bacot for helping UNC earn another road win.
“That’s him being a leader,” Ingram said. “He knew that his time was coming, and we needed him to win this game. We needed to make big plays on the stretch, and he did. And he was huge for us in the second half both defensively and offensively. He was a really mature about staying in it mentally and emotionally.”
Davis tied Justin Jackson’s school record for consecutive multiple-3-pointer games with 15.
“You need your dudes to step up. You just need your big-time players to make big-time plays,” Coach Davis said. “For us to win, whomever we play, you know we need Cormac and Armando and we meet RJ and we need Harrison and you need those guys to play well. And in the second half, they stepped up and made plays on both ends of the floor. That helped us win another road game.”
With only a field goal and free throw from Elliot Cadeau (eight points, five rebounds), UNC fell behind 9–5 in the first 4½ minutes after a Post 3-pointer.
Cadeau’s drive and a free throw after getting fouled on another drive capped a 14–4 run to give UNC a four-point lead with 5:19 left in the first half.
Harrison’s difficult turnaround baseline jumper under heavy defensive pressure with 40 seconds left gave UNC the lead, and James Okonkwo’s dunk with one second left gave the Tar Heels a 34–31 halftime advantage.
UNC quickly took control in the first two minutes of the second half as a Davis 3-pointer and Bacot three-point play gave the Heels a nine-point lead.
The sort of play that turned the game around was four minutes into the second half when Ryan created a turnover at one end and Cadeau tossed an alley-oop pass to Ingram for a dunk.
With Bacot playing only 11 first-half minutes, Okonkwo played six minutes before halftime and tied his season-high with eight for the game.
After Post went to the bench with three fouls, two of UNC’s next four field goals came inside and a flurry of BC fouls put the Tar Heels in the bonus. Pairs of free throws from Ryan and Jae’Lynn Withers (nine points, three rebounds) opened up an eight-point UNC lead at that point.
After Prince Aligbe’s 3-pointer cut UNC’s lead to four, Bacot drew Post’s fourth foul, hit two free throws, and made a jumper a minute later.
Ingram’s 3-pointer and Bacot’s three-point play on a dunk gave UNC an eight-point lead with 3:13 left. BC never got closer than five after that.
NOTES — It will be a quick turnaround for UNC, which hosts Wake Forest at 7 p.m. Monday (ESPN). The Demon Deacons (13–5, 5–2) beat Louisville 90–65 on Saturday. … Carolina leads the series with Boston College 23–6, including 21–5 in ACC play and 10–1 at the Conte Forum. … The Eagles are 70–260 all-time against ranked teams, last beating a top-five team with an 89–84 win on Dec. 9, 2017, against No. 1 Duke. … This is the 12th time UNC is 7–0 to begin ACC play. … Carolina has not allowed an ACC team to score more than 70 points this season. … UNC scored nine of its 11 second-chance points in the second half . … UNC has eight straight double-digit wins for the first time since the 2009 national-championship season. … The Tar Heels’ eight-game win streak is their longest since winning eight in a row, all against ACC teams, in the 2018–19 season. … UNC has led by double figures in all seven ACC games and has won all six January league games by at least 10 points. … The Tar Heels are 14–0 this season when holding the opponents under 80 points (and 54-13 in the last three seasons).
No. 4 UNC 76 BC 66
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 9–0 | 20–1 | 2 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 8–1 | 18–4 | 31 |
| No. 18 Virginia | 7–2 | 18–3 | 18 |
| N.C. State | 7–2 | 16–6 | 26 |
| No. 14 North Carolina | 6–3 | 18–4 | 25 |
| Miami | 6–3 | 17–5 | 39 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 5–4 | 15–6 | 17 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–5 | 16–7 | 56 |
| SMU | 4–4 | 15–6 | 34 |
| California | 4–5 | 16–6 | 51 |
| Syracuse | 4–6 | 13–10 | 78 |
| Stanford | 3–6 | 14–8 | 77 |
| Florida State | 3–6 | 10–12 | 102 |
| Boston College | 2–6 | 9–12 | 152 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–7 | 11–11 | 143 |
| Notre Dame | 2–7 | 11–11 | 85 |
| Wake Forest | 2–7 | 11–11 | 70 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–7 | 9–13 | 114 |
* — Through Saturday games
Saturday’s games
No. 14 North Carolina 91, Georgia Tech 75
No. 4 Duke 72, Virginia Tech 58
N.C. State 96, Wake Forest 78
No. 20 Clemson 63, Pittsburgh 52
No. 18 Virginia 73, Boston College 66
No. 24 Louisville 88, SMU 74
California 86, Miami 81
Florida State 88, Stanford 80
Syracuse 86, Notre Dame 72
Monday’s game
No. 14 North Carolina 87, Syracuse 77
Tuesday’s games
Boston College at No. 4 Duke, 7 p.m., ACC Network
Pittsburgh at No. 18 Virginia, 9 p.m., ACC Network
N.C. State at SMU, 9 p.m, ESPN2
Wednesday’s games
Notre Dame at No. 24 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Georgia Tech at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
No. 20 Clemson at Stanford, 10 p.m., ACC Network
Saturday’s games
Virginia Tech at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Syracuse at No. 18 Virginia, noon, ESPN
No. 24 Louisville at Wake Forest, noon, ACC Network
Miami at Boston College, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m., The CW
Florida State at Notre Dame, 4 p.m., The CW
No. 4 Duke at No. 14 North Carolina, 6:30, ESPN
No. 20 Clemson at California, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Georgia Tech at Stanford, 8 p.m., ESPNU
UNC season statistics
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 16 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 11 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 10 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 18 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo via @UNC_Basketball
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