By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Just when it looked like North Carolina would coast to its 500th Smith Center victory, it nearly slipped away.
Hubert Davis talked like a coach trying to explain a loss. UNC pulled out an 87–84 victory over Wake Forest on Saturday night, but it blew a 15-point lead with 9:50 left.
Davis said the intensity that earned that lead was missing in the final minutes.
“It’s not getting to that level, but it’s staying at that level,” Davis said. “We took our foot off the gas pedal on both ends of the floor. That’s why you’re in a tight game.”
He added that the leads they build have to be protected by the same habits that create them, emphasizing “stop, score, stop” stretches and attention to detail.
Carolina (14–2, 2–1 ACC) earned the lead by playing well on defense and getting out in transition, but got little of that down the stretch.
“We’ve had big leads, and then we’ve sacrificed, whether it’s attention to detail, effort, the little things, box out, defending without fouling, mixing up defensive coverages, shot selection, turnovers,” Davis said. “Those are the things that allow teams to get back [into games] and that’s something we have to work out.”
They also need to work on getting more shots for Caleb Wilson, who got only one shot in the last 11:01 as UNC needed big free throws at the end to win.
Jarin Stevenson made two free throws with five seconds left, and UNC had to sweat a missed 3-point attempt by the Deacs’ Nate Calmese at the buzzer. Seth Trimble scored four of his 10 points at the free throw line in the final 27 seconds.
Trimble admitted his night didn’t meet his standard before his late surge.
“I take accountability for that,” he said. “I played a terrible game. I had the worst game of the season for myself personally, but I was able to persevere a little bit, bounce back and make some things happen.”
A week after SMU scored 14 3-pointers, Wake Forest matched that, led by seven from Calmese and five from Juke Harris, with both scoring 28 points. The Mustangs shot 71.4% in the second half, and the Deacons (10–7, 1–3) shot 53.3% after halftime.
For the third time this season, Henri Veesaar (25 points, 9 rebounds) and Wilson (22 points, 12 rebounds for his 11th double-double) both scored at least 20 points, the fifth career game doing that for Veesaar (and fourth this season). But while Veesaar scored 14 after halftime, Wilson had only five points on two shots.
“The whole thing with Caleb is getting him up off the block,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. “If he’s gonna post, you’ve got to get him in the mid-post. We didn’t have to double him as much out of the mid-post. I thought we did a better job of getting him under control in transition.”
Wilson seemed frustrated that the chances weren’t coming, traveling as he tried to make something happen on the baseline with 2:06 left.
“I felt like we got content and we just didn’t stick with what was working,” Wilson said. “In the first half, we built a big lead. I was able to get more touches. We were able to dominate points in the paint. A lot of our buckets were probably assisted, I think. So that’s what I feel like was working, but we just didn’t get to that later in the game.”
Carolina went from 28 first-half points in the paint to only 12 after halftime.
With the game on the line, Davis went with a lineup featuring Trimble, Jonathan Powell and Jaydon Young to close out the win. Young (12 points, 3 3-pointers) played a season‑high 19½ minutes, and Powell (6 points) joined him in combining to make 6 of 8 field goals.
Davis said the lineup was about execution and consistency, playing well on defense, rebounding, getting out in transition, and sustaining it.
“When your number is called — your job and responsibility is to be able to step up,” Davis said of Young. “And his number was called the most, and he stepped up.”
The first half looked like a runaway. A Wilson steal and dunk punctuated a 14–4 start as UNC forced five turnovers in the opening 4:13, while the Deacs made only two field goals and went scoreless for 4½ minutes.
Wake Forest answered with three straight 3‑pointers, the second from Harris with 12½ minutes left in the half, trimming it to three.
UNC responded with a 13–4 run, taking a 12-point lead on a Wilson layup at 8:03. Three straight UNC layups, the third from Veesaar, pushed it to 15 at 5:29.
Then came a stretch that had Davis seething.
After a Mekhi Mason 3‑pointer with 3:33 left in the half — the fourth consecutive wide‑open 3-pointer — Davis tore into his team in the huddle. He swung his arms in the huddle, wiping sweat off his face with a towel and, at one point, throwing a towel to the floor in frustration.
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“We had just messed up multiple times in transition defense,” Veesaar said. “Those are very easy, silly mistakes on our side. We’re going to clean up the mistakes.”
Young scored UNC’s last five points of the half, including a 3‑pointer, and the Heels went to the break up 49–38 after shooting 59.4% (14 of 18 on 2‑point attempts).
A Calmese 3 cut the lead to six early in the second half. UNC surged with a 10–1 run, up 15 after a Wilson follow with 11:01 left. But the Deacs stormed back with a 17–3 burst; Calmese’s third 3 of the spree made it 75–74 with 4:03 left.
Trimble halted a nearly seven-minute field‑goal drought with a steal and layup at 2:59, and a Veesaar dunk at 1:28 made it 80–76.
Veesaar said the second half opened up for him as he found more space.
“I feel like I was just getting more to the rim,” he said. “We’ve been able to hit a couple pocket passes in there. [In the] second half, I just was able to connect a couple of the threes, and I got some open looks, and I think that’s only the difference.”
In a frenzied closing minute, Young, Harris and Trimble each split a pair of free throws, before Trimble returned to the line and hit both with 25.4 seconds for an 84–79 edge. Calmese answered with a layup and a deep 3 (with a Trimble free throw in between) to cut it to one with seven seconds left, and Stevenson’s composure sealed it.
Notes
— UNC next makes the program’s first California ACC trip, playing at Stanford (13–4, 2–2) at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday and at California (9–9, 0–5) at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, with both games on ACC Network. The Cardinal and Bears just completed a two-game road trip to Virginia. Stanford beat Virginia Tech 69–68 on Thursday and lost 70–55 to No. 23 Virginia on Saturday. Cal lost at Virginia 84–60 on Thursday and at Virginia Tech 87–75 on Saturday night.
— UNC, 500–90 in the Smith Center, became the ninth ACC team to earn 500 wins in its current home arena, but has the highest winning percentage in that group at 84.7%.
— Carolina shot 52.7% from the floor and is 8–0 this season and 43–1 under Davis when it shoots 50% from the floor.
— UNC had 13 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second-chance points. Those were the second-most this season, behind the 22 against Kentucky.
— Wilson tied Armanto Bacot for the second-most double-doubles in a season by a UNC freshman with 11 (behind 13 from Antawn Jamison).
— For the first time in the five games since Trimble returned, Stevenson started instead of Luka Bogavac. It was Stevenson’s 12th start.
— Wake Forest’s 14 3-pointers were the most by an opponent in a Carolina victory since the Tar Heels beat Boston College in overtime last season, when the Eagles also made 14 3s.
— Wake Forest starters Tre’Von Spillers and Omaha Biliew each picked up their fourth fouls within a minute in the first 4½ minutes of the second half. Spillers fouled out with 6:12 left and Biliew with 3:22 remaining
— Carolina leads the all-time series with Wake Forest 167–70, including 27–5 at the Smith Center, and has won the last 10 meetings in the Smith Center.
No. 17 UNC 87, Wake Forest 84
| 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 courtesy of UNC Athletics
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