Keeping It Heel
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UNC Basketball: Tar Heels hold off Oregon in the Bahamas

By Zack Pearson

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 06: Justin Pierce #32 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after making a three-point shot against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at the Dean Smith Center on November 06, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 06: Justin Pierce #32 of the North Carolina Tar Heels reacts after making a three-point shot against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at the Dean Smith Center on November 06, 2019 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
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The UNC Basketball program picked up their first win against a ranked team this year, beating No. 11 Oregon in the Bahamas.

Well, things got interesting down the stretch there.

Following their first loss of the season at the hands of Michigan, the North Carolina Tar Heels were able to rebound in a big way with a win over No. 11 Oregon on Friday. The Tar Heels will finish in third place in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament with their 78-74 win over Oregon.

More importantly, UNC was able to rebound after the loss to the Wolverines just less than 24 hours later. And we put an emphasis on rebounding.

The Tar Heels controlled the glass in this one, out-rebounding the Ducks 47-39 and it paid off big time for them. They were led by freshman Armando Bacot who finished the game with 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 blocks, a career night for the first-year player.

UNC jumped out to an early lead and even had it to nine just before the first half. Oregon kept fighting and started the game 6-of-10 from the three-point line to keep it close. UNC took a 46-41 lead into halftime but it felt like they should have lead a lot more.

Then in the second half, things got dicey.

Freshman Cole Anthony picked up his fourth foul with just over 8 minutes to play and had to ride the bench for a bit. That meant UNC had to go with K.J. Smith and Andrew Platek as Leaky Black was ruled out for the second half.

But that didn’t matter.

The Tar Heels were able to extend their lead without their leader Anthony on the floor. They got solid play from Brandon Robinson and Bacot to keep the lead over Oregon. Then it was gut-check time.

Oregon cut the lead down to just one point with over a minute to go, going on a little run to try to steal the win. Anthony then responded with a layup and hitting two more free throws to keep UNC ahead.

They sealed it with two free throws from Robinson to get the four-point win.

Anthony finished the game with 19 points and Robinson added 13 in the win. But Friday was all about Bacot as the freshman shined for the Tar Heels in a big win.

Player of the game

I’m giving this one to Bacot. He was fantastic in this one, coming up big not only on offense but defense as well. It was by far the best game of his young career and a good sign moving forward.

I also don’t know what’s more impressive, his 23 points 12 rebounds or 6 blocks? I’ll go with the blocks as he was a force in the paint.

What’s next?

UNC’s schedule now gets a lot tougher as the calendar flips to December. They enter the month at 6-1 but will host a Top 10 Ohio State team Wednesday night in Chapel Hill. After that, they travel to take on another Top 10 Virginia team on the road.

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