CHAPEL HILL, NC — Leaky Black’s basket and the team’s defensive stop allowed North Carolina to avoid heartbreak on Saturday afternoon and find its first ACC victory of the season, 66-65, over Notre Dame.
With 9.1 seconds on the clock, Black drove to the right and hit defender Notre Dame from the front. The ball rose, bounced off the glass and hit the bottom of the net, giving North Carolina (6-4, 1-2 ACC) the lead. Ryan Cormac dribbled the ball around the court, found a Juwan Durham open over the base line, but failed to hit the ball. The ball bounced off the field when the bell rang.
Notre Dame (3-6, 0-3 ACC) led 57-50 with 7:39 remaining in the game. Freshman Caleb Love then hit the second basket of the game, a three-pointer, to start Tar Heel’s return. Day’Ron Sharpe scored the next six points to trigger a 9-0 streak at UNC.
The final 4 minutes and 19 seconds were a return trip. After Sharpe’s emphatic dunk put his team in a 1:35 left, UNC broke down defensively, giving Prentiss Hubb an easy tray. All signs pointed to another defeat at the last second, something that the Heels suffered very often in the last season, including at the hands of the Irish.
Tar Heels played a relatively clean game, committing eight turnovers, including two in the second half. He had five twists in the first five minutes and three in the final 35 minutes.
Two freshmen offensive led the show for Tar Heels. Sharpe led the Tar Heels with 25 points and added nine rebounds, seven of which were offensive boards. Kerwin Walton caught fire again. The freshman was the only other double-digit Tar Heel, with 12 points from three-point shots 4 out of 8. Nate Laszewski led the Irishman with 25 points from 7 of 11 three-point shots.
UNC surpassed Notre Dame, 48-27, and surpassed the Irish on points of second chance, 18-5.
Sharpe takes control
The Greenville, NC native alone kept his team in the game in the second half. After six points and two rebounds in the first half, the 1.80m freshman took control from below. If UNC needed a bucket, Tar Heels had the ball in his hands.
He had 19 of the 37 UNC total points in the second half. With 4:19 left in the game, Sharpe took advantage of the offensive rebound and equalized the foul. He drained both free throws to give his team a 59-57 lead. It was a perfect example of the way he fought under the rim throughout the game to get 7 offensive rebounds with the best score in the game.
His 25 points were increased by a Tar Heel this season and is the only performance of 20 positive points in 10 games this season.
A first half of executions
After making his first three three-point attempts and going shot by shot with Notre Dame in the first eight minutes, Tar Heels cooled down. They missed seven consecutive shots over a period of five minutes and 12 seconds.
Fighting Irish went on a 9-0 run to take the lead, 23-17.
The roles were reversed when UNC caught fire to go on a 10-0 run thanks to a three-point Brooks, a converted Leaky Black e-one, a Bacot dunk and two free throws. Tar Heels used ball movement, successful entry passes and protected basketball – things that Roy Williams has been asking for all season.
Next
UNC will hit the road when traveling to Miami on January 5. Hurricanes are 4-4 (0-3 ACC) after losing to Clemson, 66-65, on Saturday. They have lost two consecutive matches and have not won since the defeat of Jacksonville, 73-64 on December 19.