UNC Basketball: Tar Heels outlast Wildcats in CBS Sports Classic

UNC basketball program tops struggling Kentucky Wildcats team in CBS Sports Classic

Armando Bacot led the Tar Heels with a team-high 14 points and eight rebounds, as No. 22 North Carolina beat Kentucky 75-63 in the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday.

Bacot hit 5-of-8 shots from the floor and 4-of-6 from the free throw line to go along with two blocks, an assist and zero turnovers. Garrison Brooks added 11 points on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting performance, while freshman point guard Caleb Love struggled through a 4-for-14 shooting performance for his 11 points. Despite Love’s struggles shooting the basketball, however, he did record six of the Tar Heels’ 14 assists for the game.

Perhaps the story of the afternoon for North Carolina, though, was freshman reserve shooting guard Kerwin Walton. The 4-star sharpshooter out of Hopkins, Minnesota had the hot hand for North Carolina in the second half. He had 13 points on a perfect 3-for-3 shooting performance — all of which came from beyond the arc — and 4-for-4 from the free throw line in his breakout game against the Wildcats. Freshman big man Day’Ron Sharpe had some strong plays in the low post for North Carolina, and had a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with his seven points.

North Carolina didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, hitting just 26-of-61 (42.6 percent) shots from the floor, and 5-of-20 from long-range. Their struggles from the free throw line continued again, hitting 18-of-29 for just over 62 percent. The Tar Heels were surprisingly outrebounded by the Wildcats (42-40), but did commit five less turnovers and five fewer fouls.

Davion Mintz led Kentucky with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Brandon Boston, Jr. added 15 points and seven rebounds. Freshman reserve guard Devin Askew had 12 points, four rebounds and three assists off the Kentucky bench. The Wildcats shot under 40 percent for the game, 23.1 (3-for-13) percent from three-point range and 60 percent (18-for-30) from the foul line. Their latest loss drops them to 1-5 on the season.

The Tar Heels, who improved to 5-2 with the win, are set to begin conference play against NC State on Tuesday.

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