UNC Shoots 78% in 2nd half, down Wolfpack 96-89

UNC shot 78% in the 2nd half and used a 33-point performance from Luke Maye to down NC State 96-89.

Don’t hang your heads Wolfpack fans. This was one of the hardest fought NC State / UNC game since Warren and Paige went blow for blow in 2014. The Pack shot 55% against #21 ranked UNC and turned them over 19 times, but it wasn’t enough. The Heels out-rebounded the Pack 42-24 and scored 21 second-chance points en route to the victory.

State was led by Torin Dorn (21 pts) and Al Freeman (17 points) on offense and Markell Johnson 12 points and 9 assists. But it wasn’t enough. Luke Maye  just went bonkers. He scored a career-high 27 points in the second half and hit big shot after big shot. He was so dominant that Keatts was forced to bench his best big man, Omer Yurtseven for a good majority of the 2nd half.

We could pick apart the game, but really, this was a great effort by NC State. They never hung their heads, even when Carolina was hitting silly 3s or getting lucky rolls. They answered in almost every moment, but it was UNC who made just a few more plays down the stretch.

NC State moves to 6-6 in the ACC and 16-9 overall with a huge game at Syracuse coming up on Wednesday.