North Carolina Basketball: Tar Heels hold off Clemson to secure the win

North Carolina basketball used a big first half in order to get over the Clemson Tigers on Tuesday night for their fourth conference win.

North Carolina basketball saw production come from two other guards in their starting lineup against Clemson. Newly added to the starting lineup, Cameron Johnson, put in 21 points, shot 6-for-9 from downtown and dished out three assists. Kenny Williams also stepped up as he scored 15 points, made two 3-pointers, and grabbed three rebounds.

The Clemson Tigers needed a counterpart to Johnson and Williams so Gabe DeVoe stepped up in the first half. He knocked down three 3-pointers.

Joel Berry and Marcquise Reed were the headliners entering the game and surprisingly started slow. Both guards started the game shooting 0-for-5 from the field.

UNC built a 30-18 lead at the 7:39 point in the first half. The game then went scoreless for two minutes. The only thing that happened until the 3:04 mark was a pair of free throws by Aamir Simms. Berry finally got on the board when he was fouled shooting a 3-pointer. He knocked them all in and the Tar Heels led 38-23 at halftime.

Johnson kept his hot hand going as he dropped in UNC’s first 10 points of the second half. Reed then responded by keeping pace with his own 10 points. Behind Reed, the Tigers began to show why they average 77.5 points per game. They also took advantage of the Tar Heels’ 152nd ranked defense.

Luke Maye was the only star who was absent over halfway through the second half. He was held to two points until the 7:42 mark in the second. We later found out that he was being treated for a cut on his nose.

While Reed and Berry were doing battle like everyone expected, the Clemson Tigers were slowly but surely making their way back into the game.

It became a two-point game after Clemson’s Shelton Mitchell connected on an and-1 with 8:02 left. Maye then came to life for North Carolina when he knocked down a jumper. The 6’7 forward for North Carolina was then responsible for 12 of the final 21 points. Maye would end the game with 11 points, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds.

One of the keys I was looking for before the game was the fact that UNC has scoring depth. No one on Clemson’s bench was averaging over 5 points per game entering the game. However, there was only a three-point difference between the two benches in favor of UNC (Clemson – 8 bench points, UNC – 11 bench points).

The scoring didn’t necessarily matter when it came to either one of the team’s bench but the experience did. The Tar Heels play so many players, no matter the score. 15 guys reached the floor in this game. Only one, Garrison Brooks, a former starter, played double-digit minutes. Brandon Robinson played a solid nine and knocked down two 3-pointers.

Next: ACC Power Rankings

Clemson played a very solid game. When their star was off, the Tigers found others to take over. Finally, when Reed showed up in the second half, Clemson came very close to North Carolina. The Tar Heels, however, used one of their great players that was quiet for a while and rode his play-making ability.

Cameron Johnson and Kenny Williams chose to be the igniters for UNC. Joel Berry, the All-American came in relief. One of the better flexible forwards, Luke Maye, came on to close out the game. He shot well from all over, dished passes, grabbed rebounds, and blocked shots. Clemson is going to be able to outshoot some teams at times, but UNC has the depth to counter punch.