CHAPEL HILL – Building a championship team is a season-long process. On Friday night, North Carolina took another step in that journey by learning the importance of defensive intensity no matter the opponent.
Ivy League member Brown led the Tar Heels for 16 game minutes before Dawson Garcia sparked a Carolina surge in leading to a 94-87 victory at the Smith Center.
With 12 minutes remaining in the game, UNC trailed 68-62, and it appeared as if the Bears were doing just enough to keep the Tar Heels at bay. Brown got any shot it wanted up to that point, as Carolina’s faithful grew nervous. But, the value in facing adversity against an out-matched opponent, is it allows opportunities for players to step up. And Garcia did just that.
With his team trailing by six and UNC’s stress meter percolating, the sophomore went to work. He received the ball at the top of the key, ripped the ball from right to left, and drove decisively to the basket for the finish. In the next offensive possession, Garcia got the ball in the same spot.
He did a quick jab step, knowing the defense had to respect his driving ability. The move created enough space for him to knock down a mid-range jumper. A few moments later, Garcia received the ball in the same spot as the previous possessions; this time, he put fused his moves.
The former Marquette standout, jabbed again, took two dribbles to his left, spun back to his right, and went up for the layup, which he missed, but he followed the miss and got an easy basket.
At that moment, the Tar Heels were down by two and needed a stop to tie the game or possibly take the lead. Brown isolated Garcia in the post, and the Minnesota native kept his body between the offensive player and the basket and forced the stop UNC needed.
Although Garcia only scored seven points, point guard and team captain RJ Davis knows how big that stretch was to help the Tar Heels over the hump.
"I felt like that was a momentum change," Davis explained. “We ran three straight plays for him, and he was able to execute and make shots, and then coming down and getting defensive stops, that changed the energy and the momentum going in for the final stretch of the game."
Garcia's stretch proved to be the battery pack the Heels needed to get them through the game's final moments. Over the final bits of the game, UNC held Brown to 5-for-18 shooting.
Finally, Davis put the last screws in the coffin by knocking down four three-pointers in the game's final seven minutes, allowing UNC to walk away with a victory and avoid the upset.
