Field Level Media
Dec 21, 2021
Armando Bacot's 16 points and 10 rebounds propelled North Carolina to a 70-50 bounce-back victory against visiting Appalachian State on Tuesday night in Chapel Hill, N.C.
RJ Davis provided 15 points and Caleb Love and Brady Manek each scored 11 points for the Tar Heels (9-3), who boosted their home record to 7-0.
North Carolina was trying to shake off the 98-69 loss to then-No. 21 Kentucky on Saturday.
The Tuesday contest was the final nonleague game for both teams.
Appalachian State (6-7), which is gearing up for its Sun Belt Conference schedule, lost 92-67 last week at No. 2 Duke, so it was a rough couple of visits to the same region of the state.
Donovan Gregory's 18 points and Adrian Delph's 10 points paced the Mountaineers. Michael Almonacy, who scored 17 points at Duke, was held to four points, largely because of 0-for-8 shooting from 3-point range. Delph was 2-for-10 on 3-point launches.
North Carolina, which held a 10-point lead with five minutes to play in the first half, settled for a 35-27 edge at the break.
Appalachian State was limited to 12 points across the first 13 minutes of the second half, falling into a 62-39 hole. Bacot scored five points during a two-minute stretch as the Tar Heels began to pull away.
Bacot finished 7-for-9 from the field, and Davis was 7-for-10.
The Mountaineers shot 31.3 percent from the field. They made just 4 of 30 attempts (13.3 percent) from 3-point distance.
North Carolina held a 47-33 rebounding advantage, which was convenient considering the Tar Heels committed 15 turnovers. Ten different players scored for the hosts.
The Tar Heels won despite starters Dawson Garcia and Leaky Black combining to shoot 1-for-11 from the field and score five points. North Carolina hit 46.8 percent from the floor, aided by Manek's 5-for-9 effort off the bench.
The teams combined to shoot just 16 free throws.
--Field Level Media