The North Carolina Tarheels had their first big test without Kennedy Meeks when they took on UCLA in Brooklyn. Joel James got the start again in his place and rebounding and blocking shots are the biggest parts of his game. He normally doesn't contribute to much offensively.
The Tarheels were down by as much as 11 points in the first half, Brice Johnson had been pulled from the game by Coach Roy Williams, and UCLA was hitting their shots and North Carolina wasn't. Marcus Paige was even ice cold and he stayed that way pretty much the entire game except for a late three that was the dagger in the heart of UCLA.
North Carolina went to a small lineup when they put Theo Pinson in, turned up the defensive pressure, and managed to tie it at 38 at halftime. The Tarheels, lead by Brice Johnson's career high 27 points, pulled away late in the second half to win 89-76. Johnson missed his first shot of the game and went to hit his next eleven shots. Isaiah Hicks went six for eight. Joel James went one for three, slamming one home steaming down the middle on a secondary break, was fouled, and hit the free throw. Luke Maye had three points and three rebounds in 12 minutes of playing time. Joel Berry II had a career high 17 points and, to this point, is the Tarheels most improved player.
The Tarheels were favored to win and went out and won while four out of the top ten were losing, including Duke's second loss of the season. All I heard was Dickie V talking about Duke's injuries. Has he even looked at the Tarheels bench this season?
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