Jonathan Powell turned and signaled for a timeout, giving Hubert Davis a chance to draw something up for the last play of the first half. Something to give the Tar Heels a bit of satisfaction as they headed to the locker room after what had been a slapdash showing in the opening period.
When play resumed, Kyan Evans surveyed N.C. Central’s 2-3 zone. He drove to the heart of the defense, kicking the ball to Powell in the corner. Airball. Henri Veesaar did his best to corral the ball as it bounced below him on the hardwood, multiple Eagles swarming in the process. He hit the floor, rolling. NCCU’s half-court heave at the buzzer flew over the backboard.
The sloppy sequence pretty much defined the early play for UNC against NCCU on Friday night at the Smith Center — a game that saw the loudest cheers from the crowd emerge due to a Crumbl cookies promotion. The Tar Heels found enough for a 97-53 win, marking its 51st consecutive win against in-state, non-ACC teams. But, for the second straight game since defeating Kansas on Friday and losing senior guard Seth Trimble to a left forearm injury on Sunday, UNC stalled early and pulled far away by the end. Freshman Caleb Wilson once again led the way for North Carolina, finishing with 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting and 13 rebounds for his first career 20-point double-double. Wilson had 17 points and nine rebounds in the first half alone.
Senior forward Ramondo Battle II led the Eagles with 14 points off the bench.
Here’s what we learned from UNC’s game against N.C. Central:
North Carolina stalls against zone
After UNC went up by 10 points — following a Powell fast-break three-pointer midway through the first half — the Eagles were able to slow down the Tar Heels’ pace with its zone defense.
North Carolina was forced to take more time in its half-court sets and, on the other end, NCCU proved willing to wind the shot clock as much as possible on offense. The Eagles dictated the pace and, as a result, cut their deficit to as little as six points with just under four minutes remaining in the opening half.
While Wilson still had his way on offense, Veesaar was limited to just four points in the first half on three shot attempts. Reserve forward Zayden High recorded just one basket off the bench. Junior Jarin Stevenson was held scoreless from the field in the opening frame, with three of his four shots coming from beyond the arc.
The Tar Heels’ 10 first-half turnovers did little to help their cause. North Carolina cleaned that up, recording no turnovers after halftime.Shooters need to shoot — Evans included
The Colorado State transfer who’s emphasized his ability to do both — to facilitate the offense and knock down shots himself — hasn’t shown that consistently through four games.
His debut — a 15-point, 5-assist showing against Central Arkansas — was impressive. Evans’ 12 second-half points against Kansas came at a critical time and showed his resilience.
But then, in UNC’s 89-74 win over Radford on Tuesday, Evans only took one field goal attempt in 24 minutes on the court. Evans racked up five assists in that contest, and was already up to five dimes by halftime on Friday night. But he once again failed to produce much of own offense against the Eagles.
Evans shot two-of-five from the field against N.C. Central and made just one 3-pointer. He did, though, dish out a season-high seven assists.
Powell, Dixon combine for 18 off the bench
While Powell’s former school was dismantling No. 15 Duke women’s basketball — a game West Virginia managed to win on Friday night despite playing only five Mountaineers for much of the game following a scuffle and subsequent ejections — this WVU transfer recorded a season-high nine points.
Powell is one of several backcourt players who should see more time in the upcoming weeks due to Trimble’s absence. Against NCCU, he showed the aggression on offense Davis had predicted in the offseason with his quick release and ability to draw fouls.The wing also used his length to pull down four boards in 19 minutes — the most minutes out of any bench player on Friday.
Freshman guard Derek Dixon impressed off the bench as well. The Virginia native recorded a season-high nine points on three-of-five shooting from deep. All of his points came in the second half.
