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BC 77- UNC 64
It appears that Coach Erik Johnson and the Eagles found a winning formula this afternoon as they picked up their first ACC win of the season against North Carolina. BC put up a diversified offensive attack, with early drives to the hoop opening up great looks at the 3-point line in the second half. They also were able to take care of the basketball, and their tough defense provoked 10 UNC turnovers. Despite a significant size advantage for the Tar Heels, the Eagles kept the rebounding battle close, grabbing 32 to UNC’s 37.
UNC guard Paris Kea was very effective early, putting up 11 first half points on 5-for-8 shooting. The Eagles, shooting just 33% in the first quarter to Carolina’s 57%, were able to hang around by putting up three 3-pointers in the first quarter. BC stepped up the hustle on defense in the second quarter and held the Tar Heels scoreless for over 3 minutes, visibly frustrating the Tar Heel players by drawing back-to-back charges. Taylor Ortlepp and Georgia Pineau started to heat up in the second half, putting up 10 and 12 points respectively. This Eagles team that has struggled so often with rebounding came up with 7 offensive rebounds to Carolina’s 6 in the half.
BC was able to weather a Carolina push in the 3rd quarter with efficient scoring of their own. The offense rode the hot hand of Taylor Ortlepp who scored 17 third quarter points and combined with Milan Bolden-Morris for five 3-pointers to extend the BC lead to 10 by the end of the third quarter. The Eagles pushed their lead to 15 with 9 minutes to play, but the Tar Heels put up 5-0 run to pull back within 10 halfway through the quarter. After keeping turnovers to a minimum for most of the game, the Eagles had 4 to open the fourth quarter. The 3’s, however, kept falling and they were just too much for the Tar Heels to keep up with. BC ended the afternoon with 11 of 21 3FG (7 of 10 in the second half) and a 77-64 victory.
Ortlepp finished the game leading all scorers with a career high 23 points, 5-7 from 3. The Eagles had four players in double digit scoring with Bolden-Morris (18 points, 4-7 3FG), Pineau (15 points, 6 assists), and Andie Anastos (13 points, 2-3 3FG) all putting up big numbers. The victory puts BC at 1-1 in ACC play, while UNC falls to 0-2. The Eagles will get a few days off before taking on the Virginia Cavaliers (10-6, 3-0 ACC) at home at 7:00 on Thursday.