CHAPEL HILL, NC – North Carolina left the conference on a rare occasion in February on Wednesday night to secure an 82-62 victory over Northeastern at the Smith Center.
UNC (13-7, 7-5 ACC) overcame an unstable start – having committed five turnovers in his first 10 possessions – to take control with a 9-0 spurt and then closed the first half in a 13-4 to make a 41-30 lead.
Tar Heels led by double digits in the second half for almost 15 seconds, while the Huskies struggled to make enough shots to reduce their deficit. UNC shot 42.7 percent from the ground, while keeping his opponent at 35.6 percent from the target. Nordeste hit 33.3 on the 3-point line, but only 37.9 on the 2-point line.
UNC had significant advantages in three main statistical categories: points outside the turnover (22-6), points of the second chance (18-7) and points in the painting (42-22). Tar Heels passed the Huskies, 48-33 (17-8 OR).
Day’Ron Sharpe led the UNC with 15 points from 7 of 14 shots and Garrison Brooks scored his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Kerwin Walton (14) and Walker Kessler (10 points in the season) scored double digits each, while Caleb Love added six points and nine assists, the best of the season.
Wednesday’s clash, which was scheduled for Monday after the ACC failed to find UNC a replacement game for the postponed Virginia Tech contest originally scheduled for Tuesday, marked Tar Heels’ last game out of conference in the regular season in 18 years.
Containing Walker
It was Tyson Walker’s show at the start of the Smith Center, when the pre-season All-CAA guard scored 19 of the first 21 points in the Northeast by taking down 7 out of 8 field goal attempts (4 out of 5 3FG). With his teammates struggling to take down the kicks, Roy Williams decided to attack Walker with traps in the middle of the court to get the ball out of his hands.
The strategy worked. Walker had eight points in the last 26:25 of the game to finish with 27 points on 8 out of 15 shots (4 out of 7 3FG).
Workbench delivery
Four days after Kessler led the UNC on the Virginia bank’s scoreboard, Tar Heel’s reserves went back to fighting the Huskies. Andrew Platek and Sharpe were UNC’s top scorers with nine points each in the break, while RJ Davis and Kessler provided quality minutes.
That play continued in the second half, with Tar Heel’s bench overtaking the opponent, 38-10. UNC’s primary reserves shot up 48.4 percent (15 of 31) and combined for 20 rebounds and six assists.
Side injuries, a trio of jumps
Freshman in the red shirt Anthony Harris lost his 13th game of the season on Wednesday due to a concussion suffered in his defeat at the Virginia stadium on Saturday. He follows the return to game protocol and therefore his status for this weekend’s game is yet to be determined.
Freshman Puff Johnson lost his sixth consecutive game due to an injury to his right foot. The youth pivot Sterling Manley was questionable to play, but ended up losing his 53rd straight game after needing surgery to repair the cartilage in his left knee.
Next
UNC is scheduled to receive Louisville on Saturday for a 6 pm tip (ESPN). However, the Cardinals have not played since February 1 and had their match against Syracuse on Wednesday postponed due to COVID-19’s continuing problems within the program.