Leaky Black UNC Tar Heels Spectacular Magazine
Sports

Bacot Powers Tar Heels to Win Over Louisville

Thomas Tripp

CHAPEL HILL, NC — Thanks to a double-double from Tar Heel junior forward Armando Bacot (Richmond, VA) who recorded 12 points and 15 rebounds for his 21-st double-double and 17 points from Graduate Forward Brady Manek (Harrah, OK), the Tar Heels took care of business at the Dean Smith Center when they defeated the Louisville Cardinals (12-15 overall, 6-11 ACC) by the score of 70-63.

The Tar Heels of North Carolina (20-8 overall, 12-5 ACC) is trying to play their best at a critical point of the season, to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

The Tar Heels started strong, leading 10-7, thanks to two threes from Manek and a BIG block by Senior Forward Leaky Black (Concord, NC) at the 15:37 mark in the first half. After that, Manek hit his third three-pointer of the game, in addition to a step-back three from Louisville Forward/Center Senior Malik Williams (Ft. Wayne, IN), to make the game 16-14, in Carolina’s favor.

Sophomore Guard Caleb Love (St. Louis, MO) helped the Tar Heels go into a 5-0 run, with a 30-29 lead in the remaining five minutes. Then, the Dean Dome crowd erupted at 2:50 in the first half, when Bacot did a monster slam.

Both teams were tied at 36 going into Halftime. It was a tight contest throughout the game.

During the start of the second half, the Tar Heels went on a 5-0 run, when Black slammed the ball in transition, as the Heels led by the score of 45-43. They concluded the game with a 6-0 run, where Lousiville went 2:50 without scoring. They only made just one of their final nine shot attempts. Caleb Love sealed the game with his layup with 37.9 seconds remaining in the 2nd Half.

The Tar Heels won despite only dressing eight players. RJ Davis and Caleb Love had 16 points each, while Leaky Black added seven and Puff Johnson scored two.

For the Louisville Cardinals, Redshirt Sophomore Forward Jae’Lyn Withers (Charlotte, NC), Sophomore Guard/Forward Dre Davis (Indianapolis, IN), and Williams scored 10 points each. They have been defeated in eight of their last nine games.

Bacot’s 21 double-doubles this season ties Antawn Jamison’s mark during the 1997-98 season for the third-most category for points and rebounds.

The Tar Heels travel to Raleigh, to face their Big Four rival – North Carolina State, at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC for a 2 PM game on either ESPN or ESPN2. On the other hand, Louisville, travels to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, NC, to face the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a 7 PM matchup on the ACC Network.