Armando Bacot and Day’Ron Sharpe received much-deserved praise and acknowledgement for their impressive performance on Saturday. Locked in and engaged, they punished the NC State frontcourt. It was the kind of one-two punch that’s been lacking for much of the year.
However, it was RJ Davis’ offensive burst early in the second half that required just 3:04 of actual game time that pushed UNC’s lead to 59-45 and forced Kevin Keatts to burn a timeout. By then, the damage was done. The Heels had enough of a cushion to withstand a half-hearted comeback in the final minutes.