North Carolina used a different script but got the same outcome.
The Tar Heels bombed away from three-point land to top NC State in Chapel Hill. UNC sliced up the depleted NC State interior with dunks and layups Saturday to win 84-74. North Carolina led the majority of the game by double figures since taking a double-digit lead 4:05 into the game.
UNC junior center Armando Bacot victimized NC State to the tune of 28 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks in front of 16,704.
“You look at the difference in the game, we had no answer for Armando Bacot,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “He was great, and that is nothing against Jaylon Gibson or Ebi Dowunoa. Those guys tried extremely hard, but we had no answer.”
NC State fell to 11-17 overall and 4-14 overall in the ACC, with at Wake Forest at 9 p.m. Wednesday. UNC improved to 21-8 overall and 13-5 in the league. NC State shot 37.9 percent from the field and were out-rebounded 46-25.
“We left a lot of easy baskets on the rim,” Keatts said. “We had some shots, it would have been a different outcome early-on, if we had made them. We didn’t finish around the basket. Our guys fought.”
The breaking point for NC State came when sophomore center Dowuona picked up his fourth foul with 18:11 left in the game. Bacot went to work, even more so than he already had been, and the Tar Heels went on a 11-0 run to stretch the lead to 57-35 with 14:57 left.
“It was very difficult because we are limited,” NCSU redshirt sophomore point guard Dereon Seabron said. “With those two early fouls in the second half, Armando was rolling on the boards and scoring in the paint.”
NC State gave one last gasp to narrow the lead down to 59-46, but then it turned ugly again thanks to six points apiece from Bacot and forward Puff Johnson, who drained two three-pointers. UNC took a commanding 71-48 lead with 7:50 left. Johnson chipped in 16 points and five boards while playing for the injured Leaky Black in the second half.
The Tar Heels hit 15 three-pointers in the first meeting, but went 5 of 19 on Saturday from beyond the arc. UNC countered with 44 points in the paint and had 19 dunks and layups.
“Going into the day, we knew we had the advantage inside with them not having Manny Bates,” Bacot said.
UNC jumped out to a 20-3 lead, thanks to a steady does of power basketball. The Tar Heels extended the lead to 26-8, with 16 points in the paint. NC State’s lack of rim protection ended 57 seconds into the season opener when redshirt junior center Bates suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. That was compounded by junior power forward Greg Gantt suffering a sports hernia injury and then a knee injury and never playing a game, and freshman post Ernest Ross suffering a season-ending injury in-between games.
Keatts said he thinks NC State would have been a top 30 program with good health. He also added that Gantt has lost 20 pounds while getting back into shape.
“I love where the program is at because our guys are fighting,” Keatts said. “You take the best center off of any team, they are going to struggle.
“I hate injuries. On every team there is one guy you can’t afford to get hurt, and that was Manny Bates.”
NC State slowly climbed back into the game, cutting UNC’s lead to 36-27 with 3:35 left in the first half. The Wolfpack went on a 7-1 spurt, but it didn’t take long for UNC to respond.
The Tar Heels took a comfortable 46-29 lead at halftime, with 22 of the points in the paint. Leading the way was Bacot and senior power forward Brady Manek, who combined for 25 of UNC’s 46 points, plus Bacot had 10 boards and two blocks. Opposing big men have victimized NC Sate all season.
The interior scoring led to UNC shooting 15 of 25 from the field for 60 percent at halftime, plus a 23-11 rebounding advantage.
“Armando was just killing us on the offensive glass and scoring,” NCSU sophomore point guard Cam Hayes said.
NC State’s defense might have been porous around the basket, but the offense also wasn’t at fault. Seabron struggled against the UNC size, shooting 1 of 7 from the field in the first half for just three points. NCSU shot an abysmal 8 of 31 from the field for 25.8 percent in the first half.
Freshman wing Terquavion Smith had a team-high 20 points, but needed 22 shots to get it for the Wolfpack. Hayes went 4 of 5 on three-pointers for 16 points, while Seabron and senior Jericole Hellems added 11 points apiece. Smith, Seabron and Hellems combined to go 15 of 46 from the field and 5 of 19 on three-pointers.
Hellems, Bates and injured guard Thomas Allen were honored before the game for Senior Day. Bates’ upcoming decision will be a major one after the season ends.
“We went back and forth, and he [Bates] is graduating,” Keatts said. “He wanted to go through Senior Day with Jericole. They came in together and have been close. We didn’t give him a framed jersey on purpose because he still has eligibility. I wouldn’t read too much into it.”
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