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Late Layup Lifts UNC Past Clemson

Thomas Tripp

CLEMSON, SC – UNC forward Armando Bacot had 24 points and 10 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season and Brady Manek made a go-ahead basket with 3.1 seconds left to help the North Carolina Tar Heels beat the Clemson Tigers 79-77 on Tuesday night in Littlejohn Coliseum.

The Tar Heels needed a pick-me-up, after getting embarrassed by Duke on their own home floor on Saturday Night.

They did that, thanks to Graduate Forward Brady Manek’s (Edmond, Oklahoma) go-ahead basket with more than three seconds remaining. Manek finished the game with 11 points.

UNC junior forward Armando Bacot (Richmond, VA) led the Tar Heels with 24 points and 10 rebounds. He was 8-for-10 from the field. This was his 18th double-double. North Carolina also had strong contributions from Sophomore Guard RJ Davis (White Plains, NY) with 16 points, Senior Forward Leaky Black (Concord, NC) with 11 points and Sophomore Guard Caleb Love (St. Louis, MO) with 10 points.

Bacot on the team’s performance, despite fouling out, “It showed a lot of growth in us, where we don’t have a lot of depth in the center position and just for us to fight and stay in it. It was great and I’m glad we got out of there with a win.” Bacot added, “I knew we would be confident enough to win and make the right plays and just be smart. The guys did a good job. They fought hard by us winning by two points.”

“It was us defensively,” Coach Hubert Davis explaining the effort the Tar Heels’ did defensively in the victory, during the conclusion of the first half. However, he admitted, “We weren’t very good offensively, because of Clemson’s defense and their pressure. They’re an outstanding defensive team and we struggled to get good looks.” David added, “We started defending, rebounding and taking care of the basketball.”

Despite the not-so-stellar record by the Clemson Tigers, they made sure to put up a big fight. PJ Hall, the Sophomore Forward from Spartanburg, SC, led the Tigers with 24 points with 9-for-18 shooting, followed by Freshman Forward Ian Schieffelin (Loganville, GA) coming off the bench with 12 points.

UNC return home on Saturday afternoon at 2PM, when they face Florida State in the Dean Smith Center on ESPN. On the other hand, Clemson continues its three-game homestand when they host 7th-ranked Duke on Thursday Night, on a game that will be televised on ACC Network at 8PM, followed by a Saturday Night contest (Feb. 12) against Notre Dame at 7PM on ACC Network.