Story by Jon Cerio
Photos by Brianna Adams
"I thought we played well, we did a lot of things well," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said. "Mostly everything well except defensive rebounding."
Blasted on the boards
The Orange shot 44 percent from the field, starting the second half 9-12 from the field. Tyler Lydon’s 26 points on 11-14 shooting were enough to overcome the rebounding margin and the disparity with points in the paint – which the Tar Heels won 46-20.
Syracuse did not play poorly on the offensive end. The guard play was a bit suspect, with John Gillon going 1-7 from the field with four points and six assists and Frank Howard played just one minute.
During the postgame news conference, Boeheim was asked why he stuck with Gillon for the entirety.
"What's the difference?" he quipped.
Enjoy It While It Lasts
The game was fairly competitive throughout much of the contest in
the Dean Dome. Taurean Thompson got the
Orange going with the game’s first points at 19:37. The 2-0 lead was the only time Syracuse had
the advantage the entire game.
North Carolina responded with 12-0 run, bookended by triples
from Joel Berry II. The run also saw
back-to-back Kennedy Meeks layups and an Isaiah Hicks slam.
“I’m trying to attack, to use my body to
my advantage,” Hicks said. “Get
to the rim, get to the free throw line, just try to make everybody be aware.”
Tyler Roberson picked up where he left off in last year’s
Final Four matchup against the Tar Heels, combating the run with a 6-0 run of
his own, cutting the lead to 12-8 at the 13:03 mark.
From the early going, it was apparent that UNC was going to
give the Orange fits on the glass.
Before Syracuse could tally its first rebound of the game, the Tar Heels
already had six.
Battling Back
After a Justin Jackson layup, Tyus Battle sunk a three to
get Syracuse within three at 14-11. Battle
shined with his aggression and range with 13 points, three rebounds and four
steals.
Following a Berry jumper, Lydon connected from
beyond the arc to cut the lead to two at 16-14.
His 26 points were only three shy of his career high. The two point margin was the closest Syracuse
would get the rest of the way.
"Offensively, we did a lot of positive things," Boeheim said. "We needed a couple more plays and a couple less turnovers, but we really needed a couple more defensive rebounds."
On Their Heels
For the remainder of the first half, it was one step
forward, two steps back, for Syracuse.
Lydon’s three was followed by a Luke Maye jumper and a Hicks dunk. A Gillon three-pointer with 8:15 left in
the half was followed by a Meeks layup and tip in. White’s first triple at the 4:53 mark was
followed by a Hicks jumper and a Meeks layup.
Little by little, the Tar Heels worked their lead up to 12
points just before the half. They went
into the locker room leading 42-30. UNC
shot 47 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.
Second chance opportunities devastated the Orange. At half time, UNC had 13
offensive rebounds and turned them into 12 second chance makes. The offensive boards helped the Heels gain a
24-12 halftime advantage with points in the paint.
“I think that is what the game plan was,”
Kennedy Meeks said. “Last year, I think
we averaged 44 points in the paint against those guys, so we wanted to keep pounding
the ball inside.”
Second Wind
The Tar Heels pushed their lead to 15 on the first basket of
the second half on a Kenny Williams three-pointer.
Syracuse responded in a big way. Over the next 2:08, Syracuse went on a 12-0
run, silencing the happy fans in the Dean E. Smith Center. It started with a three from Lydon, and also
saw an Andrew White III triple, as well as baskets from Battle and Thompson. Syracuse had shriveled a once daunting 15-point
lead to 45-42 with 16:27 to go.
“We have pretty good offensive ability,” White
said. “It’s just a matter of transition
defense and rebounding. That’s what
separates good teams from great teams.”
Back and Forth
Jackson and the Tar Heels answered with consecutive
baskets. The Orange battled UNC’s Maye
and Meeks' inside looks with a pair of Lydon jumpers and a White three over the
next 2:22, keeping the Tar Heel lead hovering around eight points.
Feeling Outnumbered
A Theo Pinson dunk put Carolina ahead 61-49 at the 11:41
mark. The lead stayed in double digits
for the bulk of the remainder. Lydon and
White really were the only force for UNC to reckon with the rest of the way,
and White played with four personal fouls for a good portion of the second
half. At one point, the Dean Dome crowed
collectively groaned after Lydon continually made shot after shot late in the
game.
“I just appreciate coach having faith in me,” White
said. “Fouls or not, I always try to
contribute, play my game, and fight till the end.”
Getting to 800
When the final buzzer sounded, North Carolina had earned its
17th win of the season, and fifth victory in the ACC. The UNC staff and players put together a
ceremony to honor Head Coach Roy Williams on his 800th victory. He’ll look for win 801 on Saturday in
Chestnut Hill against Boston College.
Tip for that game is at noon.
“Two hundred is more impressive than 100,
so when you get to 800 not a lot of guys have done that,” Williams said. “So I’m human. I’ve got some feelings about
those kind of things, and that was nice, but I hope that I get a few more.”
Syracuse is still winless on the road, falling to 11-8, 3-3
in ACC play. The Orange looks to regroup before
another tough road test against Notre Dame in South Bend on Saturday at noon.
No comments:
Post a Comment