By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo: Maggie Hobson
The Clemson Tigers bullied UNC Tar Heels as they fell by a final score of 85-65 on the road on Monday night.
RJ Davis once again led the Tar Heels with 18 points. Davis has been shooting the ball better in the last four games. Seth Trimble added 12 points. Elliot Cadeau added 11 points.
Ian Jackson continues to struggle. He went off 0 for 8 with just three points in 18 minutes.
Tar Heels drops to 14-11, 7-6 in conference play. Conversely, the Tigers improve to 20-5, 12-2 in conference play.
Carolina took many contested shots – much credit to the Tigers’ defense. Also, the team was atrocious in setting screens on offense. It was a terrible matchup for the Tar Heels.
The game was competitive to start in the first half, but the Tar Heels lost poise after the Tigers ended the half on a 28-10 run, which included five three-pointers. The Tigers are an elite three-point shooting team. You can’t give them opportunities in transition. The Tigers made Carolina pay.
Victor Lakhin had the hot hand in the first hand by draining threes. He finished the game with 22 points. He was also instrumental in defense by controlling the paint.
“From a defensive standpoint, it was very difficult,” coach Hubert Davis said. “They were physically getting off of our screens, off our cuts on the offensive end. They were able to run their offense like they do in shootaround.”
The Tar Heels were awful defensively. This team should’ve never allowed the Tigers to go on a run. Monday’s game brings back the Duke game, where the Blue Devils went on a run to close out the half, which the Tar Heels never recovered.
Tar Heels went four minutes late in the first half without a field goal until Cadeau stopped the drought. Tigers manhandled the Tar Heels. The Tigers have won 11 of their last 13 games.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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