After BC blistered the nets with a season-high 14 three-pointers, Carolina’s defense clamped down in the final minute of regulation and the extra stanza to preserve the win in an unexpected shootout.

 

Seth Trimble scored four points in the final 18.6 seconds of regulation to force overtime, and RJ Davis scored seven points in the extra period (matching BC’s total of seven points in OT). The Tar Heels hit all four of their field goal tries in overtime.

“For the last 18.6 seconds and for overtime we were locked in defensively,” head coach Hubert Davis said. “We got the stops that we needed, the deflections, the steals that we needed to be able to get us back in the game and eventually win it.”

 

Davis finished with a team-high 22 points, shooting 6 for 11 from the floor and 8 for 8 from the free throw line while adding five rebounds and a team-high five assists without a turnover.

 

Trimble tallied his second career double-double and second this season, finishing with 18 points and a career-high (and game-high) 12 rebounds in a career-high 43 minutes.

“We were fortunate enough to put ourselves in the position to go into overtime,” said Trimble. “We just made a commitment to get that win. You know we were on the home court. We don’t like to lose. We definitely don’t like to lose in overtime. We don’t want to lose at home. So we made sure we did everything we needed to do just to lock in and get those stops.”

Ian Jackson scored 19 points, including 15 in the second half, hitting 8 of 13 shots to bounce back after shooting a combined 4 for 18 in the previous two games. Jackson hit 2 of 3 from behind the three-point line.

 

Jalen Washington scored 12 in the first half and ultimately matched his career high with 18 points, adding six rebounds (four offensive) and three assists. It was Washington’s highest scoring output since also scoring 18 against American on November 15. He was a key reason why the Tar Heels scored a season-high 58 points in the paint.

 

Carolina played well overall early, shooting 58 percent from the floor as a team in the first half, but couldn’t seem to put away the Eagles, who entered the game having lost five in a row including an 18-point loss at Virginia earlier this week. UNC shot 55.6 percent overall.

 

BC shot 55 percent in the first half, took its first lead in the final six minutes of the period and built a lead that grew to as many as five points after halftime. The Eagles set season highs with 14 three-point field goals and a three-point percentage of 58.3 (14 for 24).

“It took everybody on the court and everybody on the bench, it was a group effort the way we persevered and were resilient towards the end,” RJ Davis said. “It was huge, because we kind of put ourselves in that position a little bit. But the way we battled and fought to the end, we got a lot of crucial defensive stops and we were able to execute on the offensive end. I mean, that’s big time for us.”

UNC improved to 13-8, 6-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with the win. The Eagles lost their sixth in a row and fell to 9-11, 1-8.

 

The Tar Heels moved to 24-9 all-time against BC, including 22-5 since Boston College joined the ACC in 2005-06. Carolina has won six in a row and 18 of the last 19 meetings in the series.

 

Donald Hand Jr. scored a game-high 26 for the Eagles, who also got 20 by Dion Brown before fouling out in the final minute of regulation.

 

UNC scored 100 points in an overtime against an ACC opponent for the first time since a 103-93 win over Clemson on February 19, 2008. Carolina is 6-1 all-time when scoring at least 100 in OT against ACC foes.

 

 

How It Happened

First Half

• The Tar Heels sported a four-guard lineup to start the game with Elliot Cadeau, RJ Davis, Trimble, Jackson and Ven-Allen Lubin. Trimble and Lubin both made their first starts since the UCLA game on Dec. 21.

• Carolina shot 66.7 percent as a team (12 for 18) through the first nine-plus minutes of action and 58.1 percent (18 of 31) in the first half overall.

• Davis made his first 3FG attempt in the opening minute and led all scorers with 13 first-half points, hitting all four of his field goal tries and going 4 for 4 at the free throw line.

• Washington scored three consecutive baskets, all of which were dunks or layups, during one stretch. He scored 12 first-half points, the most he’s had in any game since scoring 18 against American on November 15.

• In the half, the Tar Heels got 32 of their 46 first-half points in the paint.

• Carolina used a 7-0 run in just over a minute to build its biggest lead at 24-15 before the Eagles rallied. Brown hit a three-pointer with 8:06 left in the half to pull BC within a bucket at 27-25, capping a stretch during which the Eagles hit 6 of 8 shots. Boston College took its first lead at 32-31 with 6:18 left before the half.

• Carolina took just six three-point attempts in the first half, hitting two, after shooting 8 for 32 (25.0 percent) from long range in Tuesday night’s loss at Wake Forest.

 

Second Half

• UNC missed 8 of its first 9 shots after the break and allowed BC to build a five-point lead at 62-57 at the 13:33 mark on a three-pointer by Brown.

• Carolina continued to shoot poorly for much of the second half, starting 8 for 21 as a team before eventually finishing at 46.4 percent in the half and 52.5 percent in regulation.

• Meanwhile, the Eagles shot 56.7 percent in the second half and 55.9 percent in regulation.

• BC led for nearly all of the second half, taking an 87-85 lead. After a UNC turnover, the Eagles made it 89-85 on a hook shot by Joshua Beadle.

• With 18.6 seconds remaining, Trimble hit two free throws to cut the deficit to 89-87. After a UNC timeout, Drake Powell led the way as the Tar Heels forced a five-second call to get possession with 18.6 to go, leading to a layup by Trimble off in-bounds play that made it 89-all and ultimately forced OT.

 

Overtime

• Jalen Washington needed assistance leaving the court with a lower body injury with 3:28 remaining in the extra period but told the media after the game he could’ve returrned later in overtime had the team needed him.

• Davis hit a three-pointer to put UNC up, 94-91, only to see Hand drain a three of his own on the next possession to tie the score at 94.

• Davis scored seven of UNC’s 13 overtime points, matching BC’s seven OT points as a team.

• BC’s Chad Venning, who scored 17 points, fouled out with 53.4 seconds remaining in OT, allowing Davis to drill two free throws for a 100-96 lead.

• After a missed shot by Hand, Ven-Allen Lubin converted a dunk for a 102-96 lead in the final 30 seconds.

 

 

 

Up Next

The Tar Heels will play back-to-back road games next week, visiting Pitt on Tuesday night at 9 p.m. and Duke next Saturday at 6:30 p.m.