Tar Heels Come Away With a 70-67 victory over Yale
North Carolina came into the game knowing that Yale would be a tough opponent. The Bulldgos came into the game on a seven game winning streak including four straight on the road at Albany, Lehigh, UMass, and Clemson .
The Heels was down 11-2 quick before responding with a 10-0 run in the first half to take the lead.
In the second half, North Carolina got off to a slow start as Yale started the half on a 7-0. The Heels used a 14-2 run to take the lead but Yale wouldn’t go away cutting the lead to five late in the game.
With the lead down to three, Jeremiah Francis missed the front end of the one and one but Swain’s three at the buzzer hit off the side of the rim.
First Half Takeaways
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- Get the ball under the dash – After falling down 11-2, the Tar Heels made a cognizant effort to get a post touch or a drive to the lane on most of their possessions. This led to the Tar Heels eventually building an seven point lead.
- Justin Pierce provides spark – Pierce came off the bench and scored a quick four points on his way to six points in the half. The spark came in the way of driving the ball with a purpose. The offense picked up with Pierce’s arrival.
- Turnovers – Starting Francis had an impact of the Heels offense as they only turned the ball over twice. That helped offset their poor shooting from the perimeter.
North Carolina 32 Yale 28
Points: Garrison Brooks (UNC) – 7; Azar Swain (Yale) – 11
Rebounds: Garrison Brooks (UNC) & Leaky Black (UNC) – 6; Jordan Bruner (Yale) – 9
Assists: Brandon Robinson (UNC) & Jeremiah Francis (UNC) – 2; Three tied with one (Yale)
Key Stats: UNC led in second chance points 7-3
Second Half Takeaways
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- Robinson gets hot – Four out of Robinson’s five made baskets in the second half were from three. The Heels needed every bit of that has they didn’t go inside as much in the second half as they did in the first.
- Bacot struggles – The freshman big man had a rough night. He was 0-5 for two points as he stayed in foul trouble. Two of his four fouls came when he blatantly pushed an opponent in the back.
- UNC’s inability to put Yale away – Where to begin with this. With UNC up by six and less than a minute left, they managed to make two mind-blowing mistakes. Francis fouled Matthue Cotton on a three pointer. He would make two of three. The second foul was on Robinson when he fouled Eric Monroe on a layup which led to a three point play.
Final Buzzer
North Carolina will take the win but their issues are still loud.
The Heels still need to be more consistent from the perimeter. Robinson getting hot from the floor saved the Heels.
It’s been said time and time again that this is Williams’ worst shooting team and it shows. Without getting some easy baskets off of transition, they’ll struggle beating quality teams.
Their defense needs to produce more live ball turnovers if they want to run away from teams. Tonight is a prime example. There were times in the second half where it looked like the Heels were going to pull away but it never happened. As much as it seemed like UNC was dominating, a 7-0 run by Yale had the Bulldogs within three with less than two minutes left.
Just when it looked like UNC had won, two awful fouls allowed Yale to have a chance to tie the game at the end.
Points: Brandon Robinson (UNC) – 20; Azar Swain (Yale) – 21
Rebounds: Garrison Brooks (UNC) – 11; Jordan Bruner (Yale) – 15
Assists: Jeremiah Francis (UNC) – 5; Jordan Bruner (Yale) – 5
