By R.L. Bynum
RALEIGH — Carolina has been getting a lot of good stuff of late from Jalen Washington, and that continued in a big way on Saturday.
Washington, who recorded his first career double-double, threw down the game-winning dunk with 24 seconds left and blocked a Jayden Taylor shot at the buzzer as Carolina pulled out a 63–61 win at the Lenovo Center for its first three-game win streak since November.
Eliot Cadeau hooked a difficult pass over Ben Middlebrooks to Washington, who did the rest leaping for the slam.
“It was a little bit of a broken play at the end; Elliot made eye contact with me,” Washington said. “I moved to the right spot. He made an incredible pass.”
At the other end, Washington’s third block of the game sealed the victory for UNC (11–6, 4–1 ACC), backing up the tough defense from Cadeau.
“There was nobody but a guard down there, so I knew I had to go finish strong on the defensive end,” Washington said. “Taylor drove [on] Elliot; he did a great job of not allowing him to get all the way to the basket. As soon as he put it up, I was going to go swipe it.”
Washington motioned toward and had some words for the State bench, and Wolfpack reserve Paul McNeill replied with an expletive.
Washington credited his improved play to consistently working to make improvements so that he can have an impact.
“Finding a way just to help the team,” said Washington, who had a team-high offensive rating of 92.5. “It doesn’t matter what it is, just trying to find a way, staying balanced. I try not to get too high and try not to get too low. I’ve got a great circle around me and a great group of coaches and teammates that keep me out of my head, keep me present and that’s helped out a lot.”
Battle-tested through a challenging non-conference schedule, Carolina has pulled out close wins in its last two road games. Cadeau was the hero a week earlier at Notre Dame, and Saturday, it was Washington.
“It is nice to see different people step up on both ends of the floor for us in late-game situations, and that’s been a real key force,” Coach Hubert Davis said.
Washington collected 11 points and a career-high 12 blocks as he continues to be a force inside, affecting opponent shots. Coach Hubert Davis marveled at his play, which was pivotal in holding off N.C. State (9–7, 2–3).
“He’s waited his turn, and he has such a burning desire to please his teammates, please his coaches,” he said. “He really wants to do well, and to see him being celebrated in the locker room amongst his teammates was something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Other than late second-half plays, Cadeau had one of his most efficient games this season.
No assist was bigger than when he fed Washington for the game-winning dunk.
“I came off the screen,” Cadeau said. “They kind of double-teamed me a little bit, which led J-Wash to be open.”
Cadeau assisted on seven of UNC’s first 15 field goals and finished with 11 assists and only three turnovers.
“I felt like I played well,” said Cadeau, who became the first Tar Heel since Theo Pinson in 2017–18 to have multiple games with at least 10 assists in the same season and the first with at least three 10-assists games since Kendall Marshall. “I did what I was supposed to do. I defended and set my teammates up.”
Cadeau continues to learn when to pull the trigger to attempt a spectacular pass and when to make an easy pass. Coach Davis briefly took him out late in the second half after a couple of passes went awry.
“He has a gift where he could pass differently than normal people,” Coach Davis said. “And I think at times he’s so confident that he can get the ball to where he wants to, sometimes it ends up as a turnover. I thought he played really well today. He ran our offense; he took care of the basketball.”
Carolina led by as many as nine points early in the second half, but turnovers and the inability to deny N.C. State second shots allowed the Wolfpack to come back and tie it three times. UNC never trailed in the second half, though.
“We’ve just got to do a better job from a defensive standpoint,” Coach Davis said, alarmed that State shot 60% in the second half and finished with 16 offensive rebounds. “That’s just not sustainable, and we can’t live on that. And so the growth for us is to put two halves together defensively and rebounding, then I feel like we’re in a really good spot.”
Freshman guard Ian Jackson got off to a slow start offensively but scored 16 of his game-high 21 points and four of his game-high five 3-pointers in the second half while blocking two shots and getting two rebounds. He’s scored at least 20 points in five of the last six games and has a team-high six games with at least 20.
As a head coach or assistant coach, Coach Davis said he could never remember a player who could score as easily as Jackson, whose 14.2 game score was a team-high (Washington was at 14.0).
“His versatility of being able to score,” Davis said. “He can score in transition. He can go one-on-one. His ability out there, just to be able to make plays and score the basket has been a huge benefit for us over the last month.”
RJ Davis had 11 points, four assists, two rebounds and one block and was the only other Tar Heel to score in double figures.
Six of UNC’s first eight points were in transition, and two Ven-Allen Lubin layups sandwiched a Davis layup for a 6–0 run to take a 10–6 lead 6½ minutes in. N.C. State took a 13–12 lead with Ben Middlebrooks’ three-point play.
After two Dontrez Styles jumpers gave the Pack a three-point lead, 3-pointers from Drake Powell and Jackson (Jackson’s first points), sandwiched a 9–0 run to give UNC a seven-point lead. A Jackson transition layup gave UNC a 26–20 halftime lead after the Wolfpack’s worst shooting half of the season (22.5%).
Powell opened the second half with a 3-pointer to push the UNC lead to nine, and he hit another one 3½ minutes later. Marcus Hill Jr.’s follow shot with 13:58 left capped a 9–0 State run to give the Pack a one-point lead with 13:58 left.
Seth Trimble’s steal and dunk at 12:20 gave him his first points since the UCLA game on Dec. 21 and put UNC up by three. After State tied it, UNC went on a 9–2 run, going up by seven on a Jackson drive and nine on a Jackson 3 with 5:54 left.
A 10–2 State run chopped the lead to one with 3:13 left on Hill’s transition layup, prompting a Hubert Davis timeout. After Jackson missed a close shot, Hill gave State the lead on a jumper, but Jackson hit a 3-pointer to put UNC up by 2 with 1:58 left.
Hill, who led N.C. State with 20 points, tied it with a layup with 1:29 left before Washington’s game-winning dunk.
Taylor added 12 points for N.C. State.
NOTES — Carolina next has home games against the ACC’s new California members, facing California at 7 p.m. Wednesday (ACCN) and Stanford at 2:15 Saturday (The CW). The Bears (8–7, 1–3) hosted Virginia Tech on Saturday night, and the Cardinal (11–5, 3–2) beat Stanford at home Saturday 88–55. … UNC is 5–2 in one-score games this season after going 2–7 in those games during Coach Davis’ first three seasons. … It was the closest win over N.C. State since an 81–79 victory on Jan. 14, 2015. … Carolina’s 63 points were its fewest this season, the fewest in any game and a win since beating Virginia 54-44 on Feb. 24 last season and the fewest to beat the Wolfpack since a 60–52 win in Raleigh on Jan. 28, 2001. … It was UNC’s first game-winning field goal with under 30 seconds to play since Pete Nance scored with 17.7 seconds remaining to beat Syracuse on Jan. 24, 2023. … UNC wore the same Jordan-era throwback road uniforms as during the Dec. 21 win over UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic in New York. … Cadeau’s 11 assists are the most by a Tar Heel vs. N.C. State since Marshall had 13 on Feb. 11, 2012. … This was UNC’s 10th game away from Chapel Hill out of 17, while it was N.C. State’s 11th home game out of 16. … Washington has 12 blocks in the last three games, the most by a Tar Heel in three games since Brice Johnson had 13 against Florida Gulf Coast, Providence and Indiana in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. … Davis became the 13th Tar Heel and first since Assistant Coach Marcus Paige to reach 500 assists. … N.C. State center Brandon Hunter-Hatfield, a Louisville transfer, missed the game with an injury. … The Wolfpack’s previous worst shooting half this season was 29.6% in the first half against BYU. … The 46 combined first-half points were the fewest in a UNC-State game since 41 in the first half of the 1998 ACC tournament quarterfinals, a 73–46 Tar Heels win. … Cade Tyson, for the second straight game, and Ty Claude, for the third straight game, didn’t play, but Coach Davis suggested he’ll need them at some point this season. … Carolina leads the series 167–81 with the most wins against any school, including 70–48 in Raleigh and 20–6 in the arena now called the Lenovo Center. … The Tar Heels have won 23 straight games when allowing fewer than 70 points. … N.C. State made only 15.8% of its 3-point attempts, the lowest percentage by an opponent this season, but it grabbed 16 offensive rebounds, which is equal to the most by an opponent this season (Florida). … UNC had 1.050 points per possession compared to 1.0 for N.C. State. At halftime, Carolina was at .813 and State at .625.
UNC 63, N.C. State 61
ACC standings
| Team | League | Overall | NET |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 2 Duke | 19–1 | 28–3 | 1 |
| No. 14 Louisville | 18–2 | 25–6 | 25 |
| No. 11 Clemson | 18–2 | 26–5 | 22 |
| North Carolina | 13–7 | 20–12 | 38 |
| SMU | 13–7 | 22–9 | 45 |
| Wake Forest | 13–7 | 21–10 | 72 |
| Stanford | 11–9 | 19–12 | 82 |
| Georgia Tech | 10–10 | 16–15 | 108 |
| Florida State | 8–12 | 17–14 | 89 |
| Pittsburgh | 8–12 | 17–14 | 60 |
| Virginia | 8–12 | 15–16 | 102 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–12 | 13–18 | 164 |
| Notre Dame | 8–12 | 14–17 | 101 |
| Syracuse | 7–13 | 13–18 | 141 |
| California | 6–14 | 13–18 | 125 |
| N.C. State | 5–15 | 12–19 | 128 |
| Boston College | 4–16 | 12–19 | 198 |
| Miami | 3–17 | 7–24 | 227 |
Saturday’s results
No. 2 Duke 82, North Carolina 69
Miami 72, N.C. State 70
No. 14 Louisville 68, Stanford 48
Wake Forest 69, Georgia Tech 43
Florida State 76, SMU 69
Notre Dame 112, California 110, 4 OTs
Clemson 65, Virginia Tech 47
Pittsburgh 93, Boston College 67
Syracuse 84, Virginia 70
ACC tournament
Spectrum Center | Charlotte
Tuesday’s first round (ACCN)
No. 12 Notre Dame (14–17) vs. No. 13 Pittsburgh (17–14), 2 p.m.
No. 10 Virginia Tech (13–18) vs. No. 15 California (13–18), 4:30
No. 11 Florida State (17–14) vs. No. 14 Syracuse (13–18), 7 p.m.
Wednesday’s second round
No. 8 Georgia Tech (16–15) vs. No. 9 Virginia (15–16), noon, ESPN
Notre Dame-Pitt winner vs. No. 5 North Carolina (20–12), 2:30, ESPN
VT-Cal winner vs. No. 7 Stanford (19–12), 7 p.m., ESPN2/U
FSU-Syracuse winner vs. No. 6 SMU (22–9), 9:30, ESPN2/U
Thursday’s quarterfinals (ESPN/2)
Ga. Tech-Virginia winner vs. No. 1 Duke (28–3), noon
Notre Dame, Pitt or UNC vs. No. 4 Wake Forest (21–10), 2:30
VT, Cal or Stanford vs. No. 2 Louisville (25–6), 7 p.m.
FSU, Syracuse or SMU vs. No. 3 Clemson (26–5), 9:30
Friday’s semifinals (ESPN/2)
Thursday afternoon winners, 7 p.m.
Thursday evening winners, 9:30
Saturday’s championship
Semifinal winners, 8:30, ESPN
| Date | Month/day | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 15 | Tuesday | W, 84–76 | at No. 16 Memphis | Exhibition |
| 27 | Sunday | W, 127–63 | vs. Johnson C. Smith | Exhibition |
| November | ||||
| 4 | Monday | W, 90–76 | vs. Elon | 1–0 |
| 8 | Friday | L, 92–89 | at Kansas | 1–1 |
| 15 | Friday | W, 107–55 | vs. American | 2–1 |
| 22 | Friday | W, 85–69 | at Hawai’i | 3–1 |
| Maui Invitational | ||||
| 25 | Monday | W, 92–90 | Dayton | 4–1 |
| 26 | Tuesday | L, 85–72 | No. 3 Auburn | 4–2 |
| 27 | Wednesday | L, 94–91, OT | No. 7 Michigan State | 4–3 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Wednesday | L, 94–79 | vs. No. 5 Alabama | 4–4 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Saturday | W, 68–65 | vs. Georgia Tech | 5–4, 1–0 ACC |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 93–67 | vs. LaSalle | 6–4 |
| Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte | ||||
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 90–84 | No. 4 Florida | 6–5 |
| CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden | ||||
| 21 | Saturday | W, 76–74 | UCLA | 7–5 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 29 | Sunday | W, 97–81 | vs. Campbell | 8–5 |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Wednesday | L, 83–70 | at No. 13 Louisville | 8–6, 1–1 |
| 4 | Saturday | W, 74–73 | at Notre Dame | 9–6, 2–1 |
| 7 | Tuesday | W, 82–67 | vs. SMU | 10–6, 3–1 |
| 11 | Saturday | W, 63–61 | at N.C. State | 11–6, 4–1 |
| 15 | Wednesday | W, 79–53 | vs. California | 12–6, 5–1 |
| 18 | Saturday | L, 72–71 | vs. Stanford | 12–7, 5–2 |
| 21 | Tuesday | L, 67–66 | at Wake Forest | 12–8, 5–3 |
| 25 | Saturday | W, 102–96, OT | vs. Boston College | 13–8, 6–3 |
| 28 | Tuesday | L, 73–65 | at Pittsburgh | 13–9, 6–4 |
| February | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | L, 87–70 | at No. 1 Duke | 13–10, 6–5 |
| 8 | Saturday | W, 67–66 | vs. Pittsburgh | 14–10, 7–5 |
| 10 | Monday | L, 85–65 | at No. 10 Clemson | 14–11, 7–6 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 88–82 | at Syracuse | 15–11, 8–6 |
| 19 | Wednesday | W, 97–73 | vs. N.C. State | 16–11, 9–6 |
| 22 | Saturday | W, 81–66 | vs. Virginia | 17–11, 10–6 |
| 24 | Monday | W, 96–85 | at Florida State | 18–11, 11–6 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Saturday | W, 92–73 | vs. Miami | 19–11, 12–6 |
| 4 | Tuesday | W, 91–59 | at Virginia Tech | 20–11, 13–6 |
| 8 | Saturday | L, 82–69 | vs. No. 1 Duke | 20–12, 13–7 |
| ACC tournament Spectrum Center, Charlotte | ||||
| 12 | Wednesday | W, 76–56 | 2nd-round: vs. Notre Dame | 21–12 |
| 13 | Thursday | W, 68–59 | Quarterfinal: vs. Wake Forest | 22–12 |
| 14 | Friday | L, 72–71 | Semifinal: vs. No. 1 Duke | 22–13 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 95–68 | First Four in Dayton, Ohio: vs. San Diego State | 23–13 |
| South Regional First round in Milwaukee | ||||
| 21 | Friday | L, 71–64 | vs. Ole Miss | 23–14 |
Photos by Smith Hardy
tarheeltribune.com 