Aftermath Against #9 Duke: Cormac Ryan's New Career-High Does the Job for UNC

 

(Photo Courtesy Grant Halverson/GettyImages)

By JEREMIAH ARTACHO 

Durham, N.C. — The #7-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels are officially the outright ACC regular-season champions. Saturday night, they entered Cameron Indoor Stadium with a ton of Duke fans in attendance, as usual. Barking, chirping, and doing whatever it takes to prevent the Heels from becoming victorious. 

 

RJ Davis and Armando Bacot were not there offensively tonight, but they contributed enough to get the job done. It was a Cormac Ryan 31-point performance that skyrocketed North Carolina over the Blue Devils on the road. Ryan's first three made baskets to open the game all came from downtown, making two identical three-pointers from the right corner.

 

Ryan used his ability to hit three-pointers to open up the driving lanes as, during the second half, he started to drive the ball and was able to get to the free-throw line. 

 

To begin the game at the 16:26 mark, UNC had already built an 11-point lead of 15-4 following Ryan's third three-point shot. 

 

Davis' three-point make at the 8:04 mark of the first half gave the Heels their largest lead of the entire game, 15 points. 

 

However, as expected, it was not going to be that easy for UNC to grab a win playing at Cameron. Duke began to reel it in towards the end of the first half, making the score 40-31. 

 

North Carolina's start to the second half was not exactly what Coach Davis was looking for, as by the 18:16 mark, Duke was within one possession with the score standing at 41-38. They became closer and closer over the next couple of minutes, up until the 15:31 mark. Since then, the Tar Heels went on a 7-0 run to put them ahead 52-45. 

 

At the 8:05 mark, UNC held a 10-point lead of 65-55 and then stretched out their lead slowly but surely without letting up for a Duke comeback. 

 

Fast forward to 23 seconds left; UNC was up 80-76, and four free throws by tonight's star, Cormac Ryan, slammed the door. Duke made a three during the final seconds, but it was too late to change the final results. 

 

The bench was crucial tonight, especially Seth Trimble and Jae'Lyn Withers, who came in and made winning plays. Withers with his tip-backs and Trimble with his smooth, fast drives to the paint. The two add such a dynamic style to Coach Davis' offensive scheme out on the court. 

 

UNC's victory moves their record to 25-6 overall to close out the regular season and move into postseason play. This outright ACC regular-season championship marks the first one since 2017 for a team that featured junior Justin Jackson, senior Joel Berry, and senior Kennedy Meeks. 

Next week, on Thursday, March 14th, the Tar Heels will play at noon during the quarterfinal rounds of the ACC Tournament. As the one-seed, they have earned the double-bye. This is extremely helpful, as it gives them much-needed rest and more preparation for their first game. 

 

Wake up, everybody; it's March. 

 

From here on out, it's now or never. 

Starters 

Elliot Cadeau - 21 MIN, 7 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 3-4 FG, 0-0 3PT, 1-2 FT

RJ Davis- 37 MIN, 9 PTS, 2 REB, 3 AST, 4-12 FG, 1-3 3PT, 0-0 FT

Cormac Ryan - 34 MIN, 31 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST, 8-12 FG, 6-8 3PT, 9-10 FT

Harrison Ingram - 35 MIN, 14 PTS, 10 REB, 2 AST, 5-12 FG, 0-2 3PT, 4-5 FT

Armando Bacot - 34 MIN, 9 PTS, 8 REB, 3 AST, 4-11 FG, 0-0 3PT, 1-1 FT

Bench 

Seth Trimble - 20 MIN, 6 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST, 3-5 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0 FT

Jae'Lyn Withers - 11 MIN, 6 PTS, 8 REB, 0 AST, 3-4 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-0 FT

Jalen Washington - 6 MIN, 2 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 1-1 FG, 0-1 3PT, 0-0 FT

Paxson Wojick- 2 MIN, 0 PTS, 0 REB, 0 AST, 0-0 FG, 0-0 3PT, 0-0