UNC Basketball Puts Away Razorbacks In Battle 4 Atlantis

The UNC Basketball program had another battle in the first half on Friday against Arkansas and followed it up with a strong second half.

During the third-place game in the Battle 4 Atlantis, it appeared early that the UNC Basketball program was about to run away with the game against Arkansas. Even without Cormac Ryan playing, the Tar Heels jumped out to a quick 14-4 lead in the first 5 minutes of the game. They held a 23-11 with 10:00 remaining in the first half and led 31-23 with 4:17 remaining.

However, the Razorbacks didn’t go away easily. They used a 20-8 run to tie the game at 31 with 2:38 remaining in the first half as the Tar Heels went through a cold streak, missing two of their last ten shot attempts. Ultimately, Arkansas finished the half on a 15-4 run over the final 4 minutes to take a 38-35 lead into the halftime locker room.

North Carolina opened the second half on a 24-12 scoring run in the first nine minutes, giving them a 59-50 lead with 11 remaining. Tramon Mark converted on two free throw attempts with 7:02 left to cut the deficit to six at 67-61, but the Razorbacks wouldn’t get any closer.

The Tar Heels stretched the lead back out to 79-66 with 3:39 remaining and never looked back, securing an 87-72 victory in the third-place game in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

Similar to the Thanksgiving Day game versus Villanova, one of the main reasons UNC Basketball’s opponent was in the game was due to an outstanding individual performance. Mark (who had to be taken off the court in the final minutes on a stretcher, and we hope he is okay) was 13-17 from the field, including 4-6 from three, scoring 34 points for the Hogs. For comparison, the rest of the Razorback team was a combined 13-38 and 1-11 from three.

The good news for the Tar Heels on Friday was a great performance of their own from RJ Davis. Davis had a season-high 30 points and had a massive role in the second half. Davis was 9-18 from the field and 10-10 from the free-throw line. Seth Trimble was also a key contributor off the bench for North Carolina.

One other Tar Heel scored in double figures as Harrison Ingram was 5-10 from the field and scored 13 points, securing a double-double and leading the team in rebounds with 10. Both teams shot well on Friday afternoon, as North Carolina shot 49.1% while Arkansas was 47.3%. Ultimately, unlike on Thanksgiving versus Villanova, the ability to get to the foul line helped the Tar Heels a ton as they shot 35 free throws, making 25, while Arkansas only shot 20, making 15.

Another key to the game for UNC Basketball was outrebounding the Razorbacks, and they did just that, winning the battle on the boards 38-27. It was an excellent bounce-back performance for the Tar Heels, who desperately needed a win over a quality opponent and got it, even without a key performer in Cormac Ryan playing. The schedule ahead won’t get any easier from here.

The Tar Heels will now head back home for a two-game home stretch with currently No. 7-ranked Tennessee heading to the Dean E. Smith Center next Wednesday night for the SEC/ACC Challenge. Then, the first conference game is just over a week away as Florida State comes to town on Saturday, December 2nd.

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