Heels Top Irish for his first ACC victory

CHAPEL HILL, NC — Leaky Black’s basket and the team’s defensive save helped North Carolina avoid heartbreak on Saturday afternoon and find their first win of the season at the ‘ACC, 66-65, against Notre-Dame.

With 9.1 seconds on the clock, Black drove to his right and took the Notre-Dame defender head-on. The ball rose, bounced off the glass and found the back of the net to give North Carolina the lead (6-4, 1-2 ACC). Ryan Cormac dribbled the ball across the field, found an open Juwan Durham along the baseline, but couldn’t hit the shot. The ball bounced out of bounds when the bell sounded.

Notre Dame (3-6, 0-3 ACC) was leading 57-50 with 7:39 to go. Freshman Caleb Love then hit the second basket of the game, a three-pointer, to start Tar Heel’s comeback. Day’Ron Sharpe scored the next six points to trigger a 9-0 UNC run.

The last 4 minutes and 19 seconds have been a back and forth. After a categorical Sharpe dunk that put his team in place with 1:35 to go, UNC collapsed defensively, giving Prentiss Hubb an easy layup. All signs were pointing to another last-second loss, something the heels suffered too often last season, including at the hands of the Irish.

The Tar Heels played a relatively clean game, committing eight turnovers, including two in the second half. He had five turnovers in the first five minutes and three in the last 35 minutes.

Two freshmen led the show offensively for the Tar Heels. Sharpe led the Tar Heels with 25 points and added nine rebounds, seven of which were offensive boards. Kerwin Walton caught fire once more. The first-year goaltender was the only other double-digit Tar Heel with 12 points on a 4-for-8 three-point shot. Nate Laszewski led the Irish with 25 points on a 7-for-11 three-point shot.

The UNC passed Notre Dame, 48-27, to dominate the Irish on second chance points, 18-5.

Sharpe takes over
The Greenville, NC native single-handedly kept his team in the game in the second half. After six points and two rebounds in the first half, the 6-foot-11 freshman regained the upper hand. If UNC needed a bucket, the Tar Heels have the ball in their hands.

He had 19 of UNC’s 37 total points in the second half. At 4:19 to go, Sharpe collected the offensive rebound and drew. He drained both free throws to give his team the 59-57 lead. It was a perfect example of how he fought under the rim throughout the game to muster 7 offensive rebounds.

His 25 points have been the most scored by a Tar Heel this season and it is the only performance over 20 points in 10 games this season.

A first half of races
After making his first three three-pointers and going blow for blow with Notre Dame in the first eight minutes, the Tar Heels turned cold. They missed seven consecutive shots in five minutes and 12 seconds.

The Fighting Irish went on a 9-0 run to take the lead, 23-17.

The tables then turned as UNC caught fire to go on a 10-0 run thanks to a three-point Brooks, a converted Leaky Black and one, a Bacot dunk and two free throws. The Tar Heels have used the movement of the ball, successful entry passes and shielded the basketball – things Roy Williams has been asking for all season.

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UNC will hit the road on its trip to Miami on Jan.5. The Hurricanes are 4-4 (0-3 ACC) after losing to Clemson, 66-65, on Saturday. They have fallen twice in a row and haven’t won since losing Jacksonville, 73-64, on Dec. 19.