Keeping It Heel
Fansided

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels roll past Mountaineers

By Zack Pearson

CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 09: Head Coach Hubert Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels directs his team against the Loyola Greyhounds during the first half of their game at the Dean E. Smith Center on November 09, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA - NOVEMBER 09: Head Coach Hubert Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels directs his team against the Loyola Greyhounds during the first half of their game at the Dean E. Smith Center on November 09, 2021 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

The last time we saw the UNC basketball program in action, they looked dreadful in Las Vegas against the Kentucky Wildcats. And while Tuesday night didn’t solve all of their problems, it was the first step.

In what was another up-and-down game for the Tar Heels, they used another big second half to get past Appalachian State on Tuesday night.

After going into the break up 8, the Tar Heels outscored the Mountaineers 35-23 to come away with a 70-50 win. That included an all-around impressive performance in that second half as UNC used their size to their advantage.

Forward Armando Bacot scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the way for the Tar Heels as Brady Manek also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. The duo used their height in the paint and App State had no answer for them as they helped spark a few runs in the second half.

The Mountaineers fought tough in that first half, keeping things close for the most part. UNC did hold the lead for most of the game but it felt like they couldn’t pull away. Every time UNC had the chance to extend their lead even more, the Mountaineers would answer with a bucket.

But in the second half, the Tar Heels imposed that will.

UNC went on a 10-0 run in the second half to jump ahead 58-35, giving them their biggest lead of the game. That run was sparked by back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore Kerwin Walton, his first points in six games. R.J. Davis added two buckets while Bacot had a dunk in that stretch to really open things up.

The Tar Heels never let the Mountaineers get closer than 20 from that point on as UNC stamped their seal on this game.  UNC shot 46.8 percent from the field while holding the Mountaineers to just 31.3 percent. They also owned the edge in rebounding with a 47-33 advantage.

Davis scored 15 points while fellow guard Caleb Love had 11 on the game to help pace the Tar Heels.

UNC finishes non-conference play at 8-3 and will continue conference play against Virginia Tech on December 29th.

Next. Four-star guard cuts UNC from list. dark

For more on the UNC Basketball program, please make sure to check back with Keeping It Heel.

Home/UNC Basketball