ACC Basketball

#9 North Carolina Blows Past Charleston Southern 105-60

by
SportsCarolinaMonthly
December 30, 2023

By: Matt Bowers

Courtesy of GoHeels.cpm

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Ninth-ranked North Carolina got big games from RJ Davis and Jalen Washington, jumped out to an early lead and cruised past Charleston Southern, 105-60, on Friday night in the Smith Center.

Davis posted his first career double-double in points and assists, finishing with 20 points, 10 assists, five steals and zero turnovers in 26 minutes. It was his 21st career 20-point game and ninth in 13 games this season. He’s the first Tar Heel player ever to amass 20 points, 10 assists and five steals without a turnover in a single game.

“I’m lost for words a little bit,” said Davis when asked about his stellar stat line. “I know there’s a lot of players that have come through this program, a lot of big-time players, and for me being the first to ever do it, this is truly a blessing. I’m honored, and I’m grateful.”

It was Davis’ second consecutive game with at least 20 points and five assists without a turnover (he had 23 and five assists against Oklahoma). In the last two games, Davis has 43 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers. He’s led UNC in scoring in eight consecutive games, the first Tar Heel to do so in 15 seasons.

“He’s in a really good rhythm,” said UNC head coach Hubert Davis. “His leadership has been off the charts this year, his defense has been terrific and there are very few players that from an offensive standpoint have the ability to be able to score with the ball in his hands and off the ball and still be able to distribute and get other people involved.”

Washington scored a career-high 17 points, surpassing the 13 he scored at Virginia last season. He hit 7 of 9 shots from the floor in his third career double-figure game. He hit two of three three-point tries and improved to 5 for 7 from behind the arc this season.

Armando Bacot finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in 20 minutes, and Elliot Cadeau added 13 points (two shy of his season high) with four rebounds and three assists. And sophomore Seth Trimble chipped in career highs with 12 points and six boards.

Carolina’s bench outscored the Buccaneer reserves by a whopping, 43-6 margin.

“We’ve just got to keep building on that and make sure we’re doing things that our team needs to bring energy off the bench, hustle plays, taking care of the ball and everything we need to do to help the team win,” said Washington.

The Tar Heels improved to 9-3 this season, while the Buccaneers fell to 4-9, dropping their eighth game in 10 outings. UNC won its 17th home game in a row against non-conference opponents.

It was Carolina’s first home game in nearly four weeks since a December 2 win over Florida State.

The Tar Heels dominated the boards, out-rebounding the Buccaneers by a 46-25 margin. UNC also had a whopping 43-6 edge in bench points and 15-0 margin in fast break points.

How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina used a 14-0 run to jump out to a 24-9 lead by the second media timeout. It’s the eighth game of 12 this season in which UNC has posted at least a 10-0 run.
• The Tar Heels led by as many as 23 before halftime behind 12 points each from Davis, Bacot and Washington.
• UNC dominated the team stats before halftime, including rebounds (24-13), points in the paint (24-6) and assists (13-5).
• Carolina shot 51.3 as a team in the opening 20 minutes, including 42.9 percent from three-point range (6 for 14).

Second Half
• It was more of the same in the second half, as the lead ballooned to over 30 points by the first media timeout of the period.
• The Tar Heels hit five more three-pointers in the second half to finish with 11 in the game, one shy of their season high set twice previously.

Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• UNC has won 17 consecutive home games against non-conference opponents and is 228-18 all-time in the Smith Center against non-ACC foes.
• The game was Carolina’s final non-conference game of the 2023-24 season. KenPom.com ranked UNC’s non-conference schedule the 11th-most challenging in the nation.
• Friday’s game was Carolina’s fifth in the month of December, its fewest in December since playing four in 2018-19.
• Davis has scored 20 or more points 21 times as a Tar Heel, including nine of 12 games this season.
• Davis’ 10 assists were two short of his career high of 12 against Marquette in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
• Davis has 1,563 points in his career and passed J.R. Reid for 30th-most in school history against the Buccaneers.
• Davis has led Carolina in scoring in eight consecutive games, the first Tar Heel to do so since Tyler Hansbrough did it eight times in a row in 2008-09.
• Harrison Ingram, who finished with 10 points, has scored in double figures in 22 consecutive games.
• With his 12 points, Bacot now has 1,987 in his career, passing Larry Miller for seventh-most in Carolina history. He needs 13 more to become the seventh Tar Heel to score 2,000 points.
• Seth Trimble scored 12 points to tie his career high (he also scored 12 versus Arkansas earlier this season). He also grabbed a career-high six rebounds.

Up Next
Carolina will play three consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference road games starting on Tuesday night when it visits Pittsburgh. The Tar Heels’ next three games will come at Pitt (January 2), at Clemson (January 6) and at NC State (January 10). UNC’s next ACC home game will be on Saturday January 13 against Syracuse.

Follow Tar Heel basketball on X at @UNC_Basketball and @UNCMBBstats and on Instagram at UNC_Basketball.