5 Takeaways From UNC's Win Over N.C. State

CHAPEL HILL – For the first time in 29 days, North Carolina tasted victory Tuesday night, as the Tar Heels used a big second-half run in the second half to defeat N.C. State, 85-79, ending a seven-game losing streak.

The Tar Heels spotted State a 10-0 lead and withstood a Wolfpack push late in the game, but they managed to overcome the former and fend off the latter.

Garrison Brooks led Carolina with 30 points while Cole Anthony added 19 points (on just 12 field goal attempts) and five assists, and Christian Keeling had 16 points, his high game as a Tar Heel.

UNC improved to 11-17 overall and 4-13 in the ACC while State dropped to 17-11 and 8-9.

Here are 5 Takeaways from UNC’s win over the Wolfpack:

The Tar Heels have been on the wrong side of so many big runs that have done them in this season, so it was time they were on the right side of one and were they ever.

After a jumper by Cole Anthony gave UNC a 42-37 lead very early in the second half, State went on a 15-3 run to take a 52-45 lead. It was falling in line with so many of the runs noted above that have sunk the Heels. But instead of struggling to overcome it, the Heels erupted for a 22-4 run that was accomplished on both ends of the floor.

The Heels forced State into 1-for-5 shooting with four turnovers during the run and outrebounded the Pack 9-2 as well, including a huge 5-0 on the offensive glass.

Carolina’s scores during the run: Brandon Robinson converted a conventional three-point play; Leaky Black hit a jumper; Anthony a layup; Brooks sank a pair of free throws; Keeling drained a jumper 3-pointer; Anthony rammed home a dunk on the break; Keeling hit another three; Brooks converted a layup and then hit a free throw capping the run at 22-4 giving the Tar Heels a 67-56 lead with 8:33 remaining.

“I think Christian (made) a couple big shots that he made was big for us,” UNC Coach Roy Williams said about the run. “The team had a great deal of confidence that they could get the ball to Garrison and good things were going to happen.

“Cole made a big-time drive and layup one time when we might have had it to Garrison but they overplayed him and Cole took it all the way to the basket and made it, too. So, we made some good plays.”

Part of the 22-4 run was perhaps the most important sequence of the night when the Heels rose up and executed some serious grit:

Black scored on the break while drawing a foul, but he missed the free throw. Justin Pierce grabbed the miss but then Brooks missed a layup, yet Pierce pulled that down before Black missed a 3-point attempt. Brooks grabbed that miss and found Anthony who converted a driving layup for a four-point play and tying the score at 52-52 with 12:48 left.

Four points, three offensive boards and a boat load of energy came from the possession aided by the work on the glass.

“It’s what coach always teaches us,” Brooks said. “And I think that us getting more possessions, of course that’s to our advantage.”

Garrison Brooks is on another impressive run. He had one in January when the junior forward was playing all-ACC hoops but his game appeared to have been the one most impacted by Anthony’s return to the lineup four weeks ago.

Then, Brooks suffered an eye injury versus Duke and had to sport goggles in a loss at Wake Forest, in which he failed to score from the field. In his next two games, however, Brooks scored 20 in a last-second loss to Virginia and 22 in a last-second loss at Notre Dame before missing Saturday’s loss at Louisville because of an illness.

Tuesday night, Brooks went for 30 points – his second-highest total of the season – and grabbed nine rebounds. Brooks’ big night included hitting 14m of 16 shots from the free throw line, an amazing stat given that he missed 15 straight free throw attempts at home spanning a few games not long ago.

He drained eight free throws in the final 3:44, including six over the final 41 seconds. Brooks actually drained all 11 of his attempts in the second half.

Not always the most talkative player on the team, Brooks offered up an easy explanation for his performance.

“I just wanted to play (and) came out to play,” he said.

The grad transfer has clearly found his game and was on again Tuesday night, as he finished with 16 points, his high as a Tar Heel, hitting 7-for-9 from the floor, including 2-for-4 from 3-point range.

He hit several pull-up jumpers in very Keeling-esque fashion and drained a pair of threes during a 22-4 UNC run that saw the Heels build an 11-point lead in the second half.

He’s scored in double figures in five of UNC’s last seven contests and registered nine points in each of the two games he didn’t. His average in the seven-game stretch is 12.4 points per game as he’s shooting 55.7 percent (34-for-61), including 47 percent (8-for-17) from 3-point range.

State opened with a 7-0 lead in the first meeting in Raleigh but the Tar Heels outscored the Pack 39-28 for the rest of the half and led 39-35 at halftime. On Tuesday, the Wolfpack opened with a 10-0 lead but UNC then outscored State 40-27 for the rest of the half to take a 40-37 lead.

Carolina failed to score on its first eight possessions Tuesday, turning over the ball five times, three from freshman forward Armando Bacot. But a baseline layup by Cole Anthony 5:10 into the game put the Heels on the board. State actually then led 13-2, but the Heels were on after that, hitting 15 of their next 29 shots from the field and scoring 40 points on 31 possessions.