CHARLOTTE – Threes were wild Wednesday afternoon inside Spectrum Center.
North Carolina regained its hot perimeter shooting that led it to six consecutive wins before Saturday’s loss to Duke in rolling past Notre Dame, 76-56 in the second round of the ACC Tournament.
The Heels hit nine of them in the first 13:44 of the contest, five of which came from Jae’Lyn Withers. In all, the Heels were 13-for-28 from the perimeter, with the damage done early on.
Carolina had a pair of 20-point leads in the first half before owning a 14-point edge at the intermission, but it was well too much for the Fighting Irish to overcome.
The Heels opened the game on a 17-5 run, and while the Irish cut it to 22-15, UNC then erupted for a 15-2 run and 37-17 advantage with 4:37 left in the first half.
Withers finished with a career-high 21 points and his seven made 3-pointers is a UNC record in an ACC Tournament game. He had 9 rebounds as well. Ven-Allen Lubin had his second double-double in the last three games finishing with 17 points and 10 rebounds. RJ Davis had 13 points and 6 assists. Elliot Cadeau had 6 rebounds and 10 assists.
UNC's largest lead was 24 points at 71-47 with 3:57 left.
UNC improved to 21-12 and will face Wake Forest here Thursday afternoon.
Here is How It Happened:
1st Half
TV TO – UNC 17, ND 5 with 15:00 left in the half
UNC 5-6 FGs (5-7 from 3)
ND 2-7 FGs (0-1 from 3)
Rebs – UNC 6-3
Assists – UNC 4-0
---RJ & EC each with 2 assists
---Withers 3-for-4 from 3
---Burton 0-for-2 for ND
Notes: Heels came out with a ton of bounce, as we noted in 5 Keys they needed to start the game. Elliot Cadeau playing fast and alert so far.
TV TO – UNC 21, ND 8 with 10:46 left in the half
That segment: UNC 4-3
UNC 7-14 FGs (6-9 from 3)
ND 3-16 FGs (1-5 from 3)
Rebs – UNC 13-8 (ND 21 OR)
Pts in paint – 2-2
Fast break pts – UNC 2-0
Assists – UNC 5-1
TOs – UNC 1-0
Bench pts – UNC 4-3
*JWash 4 pts – hit a 3
*JWit three 3s
*EC 3 rebs & 2 assists plus a 3
*ND’s Burton now 0-for-4
TV TO – UNC 27, ND 17 with 7:34 left in the half
That segment: ND 9-6
UNC 9-19 FGs (7-13 from 3)
ND 6-21 FGs (1-6 from 3)
Rebs – UNC 15-12 (3-2 OR ND)
2nd chance pts – UNC 3-2
Pts in paint – ND 8-4
*Cadeau 3 pts, 4 rebs, 3 assists
*Withers 9 pts (all 3s)
*RJ 3 pts (1-3 from 3)
*Burton (ND) finally scored at 9:55
TV TO – UNC 37. ND 20 with 4:00 left in the half
That segment: UNC 10-3
*UNC had 12-0 run
UNC 13-23 FGs (9-15 from 3)
*Only 8 FG attempts inside the arc ND 7-25 FGs (2-8 from 3)
Rebs – UNC 18-12
Pts in paint – 8-8
*Withers 5-for-6 from 3 (15 pts)
*UNC’s other 3s: RJ, Powell, EC, JWash
*Jackson only Heel that’s played who hasn’t scored
Last Segment:
*ND 9-6
Carolina led by 20 but allowed the Irish to cut the margin to 14 by halftime by giving up a wide open three and then a foul that led to a 3-point play.
2nd Half
TV TO – UNC 53, ND 34 with 14:39 left
That segment: UNC 10-5
UNC 18-37 FGs (10-18 from 3)
ND 12-41 FGs (4-14 from 3)
Rebs – UNC 29-21 (6-5 OR ND)
2nd chance pts – UNC 7-5
Pts in paint – UNC 16-14
Assists – UNC 13-4
*Cadeau 6 rebs, 6 assists
*Withers 6 threes
TV TO – UNC 58, ND 40 with 10:51 left
That segment: ND 6-5
UNC 20-42 FGs (11-22 from 3)
*UNC 9-20 inside the arc)
ND 14-47 FGs (4-15 from 3)
Rebs – UNC 31-25
*Withers 6-8 on 3-pointers
*He also has 8 rebs
*6 rebs for Lubin and Cadeau
*Cadeau & RJ 6 assists each
*UNC is averaging 1.318 points per possession
TV TO – UNC 62, ND 43 with 7:54 left
That segment: UNC 4-3
*UNC 5-11 layups / 3-4 dunks
*UNC has scored on 26 of 48 possessions (54.2%)
Blocks – UNC 4-2
Steals – ND 6-2
Bench pts – UNC 7-5
Rebs – UNC 33-28 (ND 9-6 OR)
2nd chance pts – UNC 9-5
*UNC 7-10 FTs
*ND 9-12 FTs
*Withers 18 pts, Lubin 15, RJ 10
TV TO – UNC 69, ND 47 with 3:59 left
That segment: UNC 7-5
*Lubin his second double-double in last 3 games (17 pts, 10 rebs)
*Withers I rebound away from double-double (18 pts, 9 rebs)
*Cadeau 6 rebs and 8 assists
*RJ 13 pts & 6 assists
*UNC opened game on 17-5 run & later had 15-2 in first half to open the game
