Defending Champion, NC too much for BC 96-66

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When you are the defending national champion, it is a given that every night you will get the oppositions best. For the No. 20 North Carolina Tar Heels, it has been the case since opening night. On Tuesday night, it was the Tar Heels who were throwing haymakers as they took care of Boston College by thirty, 96-66.

This game was won on both the stats sheet and on the floor. UNC’s length and talent were too much for the Eagles. The Tar Heels finished the game with a staggering 58 rebounds for the game, 48 points in the paint and 24 second-chance points. It all added up to a bad night on the road for the Eagles, who lost for the 11 straight time to North Carolina. The last time BC beat UNC was in February of 2010.

Carolina had four players in double-figures on the night, none more impressive than Luke Maye. He was a monster all night as the 6-8 forward had a career night with 32 points, 18 rebounds of which 15 were on the defensive end. If that was not enough, Maye also showed off some range by stepping out and knocking down 4-of- 5 from three-point range. His double-double is his ninth of the season. It helped that the Eagles did not have anyone who could match up with him in on the defensive end.

Photos from tonight’s win over Boston College from @JCamarati: https://t.co/P2qmrlOLwy #CarolinaSZN pic.twitter.com/jQwaqPPWvM

— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) January 10, 2018

The Eagles did not do themselves any favors by shooting only 20% to begin the game. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels went on an early 10-0 run with Maye scoring eight of those points. UNC was in a foul mood with a two-game losing streak in league play hanging over their heads and took it out on BC.

The closest the Eagles would get in the first half was down six 23-17 on a Jordan Chatman three ball. He ended with 11 points on the night. From there, it was all the home team as the would get their largest lead of the half on a Cam Johnson basket with 3:48 to play the first half. The score at that point was 39-23 and Johnson had 14 for the game. By the time the first twenty minutes was over, Carolina had put 50 on the board to lead 50-35 at the half.

BC showed a little fight to begin the second half knocking down their first seven shots, to get to within eight at 59-51. Carolina quickly got things back together and ran off a 15-2 run to retake control of the game at 74-53 with 11:39 left in the game. And when Joel Berry II dropped a three on BC to increase the lead to 79-55, the game was pretty much over. Carolina at that point was shooting 67%.

From there, it was all about what the final score would look like as benches were emptied with five minutes to go. The Tar Heels snapped their two-game conference losing streak with a thirty point win 96-66. Carolina got 13 from Berry II, and 10 from Ken Williams. Boston College received 15 from Jerome Robinson, 11 from Steffon Mitchell, and team-high 21 from Ky Bowman.

The Eagles, at 11-6 and 2-3 in league play, will look to get back on the winning track when they play their final non-conference game of the season, Saturday afternoon VS Dartmouth.