By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Shifting gears, playing with more intensity on defense and taking care of the boards turned a competitive game into a rout.
No. 12 North Carolina played faster and was more determined, turning a 21–21 game late in a low-energy first half into an impressive 77–58 victory Tuesday at the Smith Center over East Tennessee State.
Henri Veesaar, who punished a shorter Buccaneers team with a career-high 26 points (10 of 11 from the floor, 2 of 3 from 3-point range with eight rebounds), said the game turned with three minutes left in the first half.
“We kind of flipped the switch and just were a lot more energized,” said Veesaar, whose 90.9% shooting was the fourth-best by a Tar Heel in Smith Center history.” We were more focused. We were detailed and aggressive. I feel like a big part of it was defensive aggressiveness. We were really good at that.”
There was plenty that UNC (10–1) wasn’t good at when it got off to another low-energy start. Even though the Tar Heels shot 63.6% before halftime, poor defense and getting outrebounded under the offensive boards kept it close, as ETSU consistently boxed out the Tar Heels.
The Buccaneers used most of the shot clock many times, scoring eight first-half points at the end of the shot clock. Or, as UNC coach Hubert Davis said, ETSU (8–4) was methodical.
“They were taking us one-on-one, late clock, ball-screen action, and really getting anything that they wanted towards the basket, and also second-chance opportunities,” said Davis, whose team let ETSU get five offensive rebounds in the first half but only one in the second half. “We just needed to do a better job of finishing out those possessions.”
Playing faster near the end of the first half carried over into the second half, as UNC took control. James Brown’s offensive rebound, pump-fake and inside bucket early in the second half typified the difference after halftime.
“From like a three-minute mark in the first half all the way through the second half, I felt like our intensity wore them down, and we consistently finished defensive possessions with a rebound,” Davis said.
UNC held ETSU to one shot on its first two possessions of the second half, and Wilson got a steal on the third. The Tar Heels scored the first seven points of the second half to go up by 15 points on a Veesaar 3-pointer.
“Sometimes I feel like we are allowing the other team to impose their will on us, instead of imposing our own,” said Wilson, who had his double-double streak stopped at three but scored at least 20 points for the seventh time (20 points, eight rebounds, eight drawn fouls). “Just picking up the intensity and just knowing that we can’t allow for close games to happen. Honestly, it just can’t happen for sure.”
It’s tough to convince some freshmen of the importance of playing good defense, but Wilson knew that when he arrived on campus and continues to show it on the court.
“We just really applied ourselves to sticking to our principles and focusing on what we knew would win us the game, which is defensive effort, being physical and not allowing anyone else to dictate the pace,” Wilson said.
Davis said the defensive intensity sparked a 15–0 second-half run that included four layups to balloon the lead to 27 points with 7:24 left.
“There’s no other road, there’s no other route, there’s no other way,” Davis said. “The only way for us to be successful is we’ve got to be a really good defensive team. We’ve got to rebound the basketball and, on the offensive end, we have to make the easy play.”
Davis has been preaching to make the easy pass, and junior point guard Kyan Evans has flourished with that approach. He’s has 11 assists and no turnovers in the last two games after dishing out six assists against ETSU.
“He’s really making the easy play,” Davis said. “He’s someone who can run our offense. One of the things I always say: just make routine plays routinely. We don’t need home runs. We just need singles, and Kyan hit singles.”
Against a smaller team, this game figured to be a big opportunity for Veesaar, and he took full advantage.
“Me being strong with the ball around the rim, finishing towards the basket — I think that made a huge impact,” he said.
The Buccaneers stayed with UNC for most of the first half, taking the first of two leads, 17–16, on a Brian Taylor II’s 3-pointer nearly 10 minutes into the game.It was tied before a driving Wilson dunk off an Evans pass on a pick-and-roll highlighted a 14–6 run. UNC ended the run by trapping to force a turnover, producing a transition Jarin Stevenson layup and a six-point lead. A Veesaar 3 and Jonathan Powell transition layup gave UNC a 38–30 halftime lead.
“I think the main thing was just our energy and effort on defense, and if we’re willing to get the stops,” Powell said. “I think in the first couple of minutes of the second half, we were able to get stops, create energy, and that led to our offense and allowed us to get a big lead.”
Brian Taylor scored 14 points and Blake Barkley added 11 for ETSU.
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Notes
— UNC heads to Atlanta at 3 p.m. Saturday to face Ohio State in the CBS Sports Classic at the State Farm Arena (home of the Atlanta Hawks). It will be the first game for the Buckeyes (8–2) since their 89–88 victory Saturday in Cleveland over West Virginia.
— Carolina has won all seven meetings with ETSU, but it was the first since UNC’s 78–55 win on Dec. 8, 2012, at the Smith Center.
— Wilson has made at least five free throws in every game, and was 7 of 10 at the line Tuesday. His 3-pointer to open UNC’s scoring gave the Tar Heels 999 consecutive games with a 3-pointer.
— Veesaar, whose previous career-high was 24 points against St. Bonaventure, came out a few minutes into the game to get his left elbow taped.
— Powell started the second half instead of Luka Bogavac, whose only statistic was a foul in the first half, when he struggled on defense.
— Jarin Stevenson dished out a career-high four assists.
— An ETSU fan behind its bench was ejected midway through the second half.
— It was the second consecutive game the Tar Heels have handed a team its worst loss of the season, beating ETSU by 19 after topping USC Upstate by 18 on Saturday.
— The Tar Heels have assisted on 38 of 55 field goals with only 13 turnovers in the last two games.
No. 12 UNC 77, ETSU 58
| Team | League | Overall | NET* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Duke | 17–1 | 29–2 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 10 Virginia | 15–3 | 27–4 | 13 | 11 |
| Miami | 13–5 | 24–7 | 32 | 28 |
| No. 19 North Carolina | 12–6 | 24–7 | 23 | 19 |
| Clemson | 12–6 | 22–9 | 36 | 33 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 11–7 | 22–9 | 14 | 25 |
| N.C. State | 10–8 | 19–12 | 35 | 45 |
| Florida State | 10–8 | 17–14 | 69 | 74 |
| California | 9–9 | 21–10 | 65 | 49 |
| Stanford | 9–9 | 20–11 | 59 | 51 |
| SMU | 8–10 | 19–12 | 39 | 50 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–10 | 19–12 | 53 | 52 |
| Wake Forest | 7–11 | 16–15 | 64 | 81 |
| Syracuse | 6–12 | 15–16 | 83 | 92 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–13 | 12–19 | 109 | 146 |
| Notre Dame | 4–14 | 13–18 | 93 | 121 |
| Boston College | 4–14 | 11–20 | 159 | 217 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–16 | 11–20 | 167 | 210 |
* — Through Sunday games
Saturday’s results
No. 1 Duke 76, No. 19 North Carolina 61
Boston College 77, Notre Dame 69
Clemson 79, Georgia Tech 76
No. 24 Louisville 92, Miami 89
Florida State 92, SMU 78
Stanford 85, N.C. State 84
Wake Forest 80, California 73
Pittsburgh 71, Syracuse 69, OT
END OF REGULAR SEASON
ACC tournament
Spectrum Center | Charlotte
Tuesday through Saturday
| Date | Month/day | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. 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. 17 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. 11 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. 9 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 | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 1 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | L, 75–66 | at No. 25 Miami | 19–5, 7–4 |
| 14 | Saturday | W, 79–65 | vs. Pittsburgh | 20–5, 8–4 |
| 17 | Tuesday | L, 82–58 | at N.C. State | 20–6, 8–5 |
| 21 | Saturday | W, 77–64 | at Syracuse | 21–6, 9–5 |
| 23 | Monday | W, 77–74 | vs. Louisville | 22–6, 10–5 |
| 28 | Saturday | W, 89–82 | vs. Virginia Tech | 23–6, 11–5 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | W, 67–63 | vs. Clemson | 24–6, 12–5 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 76–61 | at No. 1 Duke | 24–7, 12–6 |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte | |
| 12 | Thursday | L, 80–79 | Quarterfinals: vs. Clemson | 24–8 |
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 19 | Thursday | L, 82–78, OT | First round: vs. VCU in Greenville, S.C. | 24–9 |
Photos by Joshua Lawton
