By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — When Florida State packed its defense inside and dared North Carolina’s guards to beat them, Kyan Evans answered with his best shooting night of the season.
Evans knocked down a season-high five 3-pointers and tied his season high with 15 points to help No. 12 UNC pull away for a 79–66 win Tuesday night over Florida State at the Smith Center in its ACC opener.
“Yeah, it felt really good,” said Evans, who also scored 15 in the opener against Central Arkansas, of seeing his shots fall. “I think teammates were finding me, so I got some good looks.”
Evans thrived with catch-and-shoot perimeter shots from the wing, much like he did last season at Colorado State, when he scored at least four 3-pointers four times, including sinking six against Memphis in the NCAA tournament.
Evans came into the game 4 of 21 (19%) from 3-point range in the last seven games after going 3 of 4 against St. Bonaventure. He said his confidence never wavered, even after some recent shooting struggles.
“Everybody [was] just talking to me, just letting me know that they’re with me and they want me to stay aggressive,” said Evans, sporting a shorter hair style with braids. “I think I wasn’t aggressive just on both ends of the court, and I want to change for the team and for my guys.”
Evans took a season-high 15 shots (previous high was 11 when he had 12 points against Kansas) and attempted a season-high 12 3-pointers (he took 11 against the Jayhawks).
The Tar Heels struggled early, missing 10 of their first 11 shots, but Evans’ corner 3-pointer finally got them on the board nearly three minutes into the game. He added two more 3s during an 11–5 run that pushed UNC’s lead to seven late in the first half.
His biggest impact came after halftime, when UNC responded to a Florida State run with an 18–3 burst. Evans hit another pair of threes during that stretch, and his ability to space the floor opened driving lanes for Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar.
“Even in the second half, there were a couple where he missed, and then he came out and he came right back in and knocked down a couple,” Davis said of Evans. “We always talk about how do you react and how do you respond? And the way that he responded out there was a huge force.”
The Tar Heels may not have a true point guard on the roster and it hasn’t gone smoothly for Evans in many games. He didn’t have an assist against Florida State, but if he can bring the kind of range he found last season when he shot 44.6% from outside the arc, he’ll add a huge element for UNC.
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 10 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. 9 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 | 2:15 | at SMU | The CW |
| 10 | Saturday | 6 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 14 | Wednesday | 9 p.m. | at Stanford | ACCN |
| 17 | Saturday | 4 p.m. | at California | ACCN |
| 21 | Wednesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ESPN2 |
| 24 | Saturday | 2 or 2:30 | at No. 21 Virginia | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 31 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | ESPN |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | vs. No. 6 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. 16 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 6 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo by Joshua Lawton
tarheeltribune.com 