Wake Forest Demon Deacons vs North Carolina Tar Heels Match Player Stats On Dec 30, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Dec 30, 2017

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Joel Berry II's floater with 10.3 seconds remaining broke a tie and rescued No. 13 North Carolina in a 73-69 victory against Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at the Smith Center.

Keyshawn Woods missed a 3-point attempt for Wake Forest before Kenny Williams made two free throws to seal the outcome.

Luke Maye's 17 points and 15 rebounds and Berry's 16 points paced North Carolina (12-2), while Williams had 13 points and Cameron Johnson added 11 points.

The Tar Heels overcame some shoddy shooting stretches as they embarked on an effort to repeat as ACC regular-season champions.

Bryant Crawford scored 17 points and Woods had 12 points for Wake Forest (7-6).

North Carolina used Theo Pinson's two free throws with 51.4 seconds left to tie the game. Wake Forest's Doral Moore missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 34.1 seconds left before Berry's shot.

It didn't appear that it would be so dramatic earlier for the Tar Heels. Johnson made two 3-pointers in the opening five minutes of the second half.

Crawford missed a dunk midway through the second half that would have pulled the Demon Deacons within three points. Instead, North Carolina rattled off the next four points for a 60-51 lead.

Williams' steal and dunk ignited the North Carolina crowd, but Terrence Thompson and Woods answered with 3s, the first of those causing Tar Heels coach Roy Williams to slam the scorer's table in disgust.

Crawford's 3 on the next possession tied the score at 62-62.

Woods' jumper in transition gave Wake Forest a 66-65 edge.

North Carolina led 35-30 at halftime despite shooting 36.8 percent from the field.

Wake Forest held a 27-24 lead with less than 2 1/2 minutes to go in the half before the Tar Heels rattled off the next seven points.

Then came Pinson's acrobatic putback at the 23.1-second mark providing the final points of the half. North Carolina scored the first five points of the second half despite Pinson departing briefly with an apparent injury.

Maye left the game briefly in the first half with a cut on his cheek.

Moore, a center who leads the country in field-goal percentage, played only six first-half minutes because he picked up two fouls. He finished with four points on 2-for-5 shooting from the field with eight rebounds.

NOTES: This was the only scheduled meeting between the in-state teams this season. ... This was the 12th season in a row that North Carolina entered ACC play with at least 10 non-conference victories. ... Wake Forest has lost 19 consecutive road games against ranked opponents since winning in Chapel Hill aginst the Tar Heels on Jan. 20, 2010. ... The Demon Deacons won their first two true road games this season, winning at Charlotte and Coastal Carolina. ... North Carolina was playing its first home game since the stunning Dec. 20 loss to Wofford. ... North Carolina goes to Florida State on Wednesday night. ... Wake Forest plays its ACC home opener Wednesday night against Syracuse.