Thirty-two-point deficit insurmountable despite Orange late game charge

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – With just under 10 minutes remaining in the second half, North Carolina guard Johnathan Powell connected on a corner triple to give the Tar Heels a 72-40 lead over what appeared to be a defeated Syracuse squad on its way to the worst loss of the season.

“I thought [North] Carolina set the tone right from the beginning with their physicality on defense, inside in the paint and scoring,” Coach Autry said after the game.

But then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Orange went on a 37-11 run, and at one point, had made 13 of 14 field goals. With a minute left in the game, it was 83-77.

But the fight was too little, too late. The Tar Heels closed the door and walked away with an 87-77 victory, as the Orange remain winless all-time at the Smith Center.

“I thought we were more aggressive late, and we opened the floor up and allowed our guards to make the play,” said Autry of what went right in the final ten minutes.

The problems for Syracuse shined bright in the first half. UNC attacked Orange forward Donnie Freeman on nearly every offensive play. He was tasked with guarding the Heels freshman phenom forward Caleb Wilson, and it was a clear mismatch, as Wilson had 13 points by halftime.

Autry was left with a predicament because, on the other end, Freeman was the only Syracuse player who could score consistently in the first half. He made up 18 of ‘Cuse’s first 32 points.

But the subplot unfolded when the ball wasn’t in the hands of those two, highlighting the key difference between the two teams. UNC had five players not named Wilson with at least five points or more at halftime, while Syracuse only had one not named Freeman.

The Tar Heels also had nine assists and four turnovers heading into the locker room. Syracuse, on the other hand, assisted on only two baskets and committed nine turnovers.

“We have to do a better job of moving without the ball and making quicker decisions, and we just did not do that,” said coach Autry.

Starting the second half trailing 46-32, Syracuse failed to make adjustments.

For the first ten minutes of the second half, UNC went on a 26-8 run led by freshman Luka Bogavac, who at one point scored eight straight Carolina points. Tar Heel fans were heading for the exits with every indication that this ballgame was over.

But then things changed. As they’ve done in so many different spurts this season, Syracuse started to show life, and a lot of it. When coach Autry brought forward Akir Souare into the game, Syracuse began to get stops, and then those stops led to points. In only nine minutes of action Souare finished with a plus-17.

At the same time, guard Kiyan Anthony started to make some baskets, guard Nate Kingz knocked down some big-time 3s, and there was a legitimate scare sent through the Tar Heel faithful late.

“I put a lot of stock into [what happened at the end of the game],” said UNC coach Hubert Davis after the game as he proceeded to give Syracuse credit for not giving up.

At the end of the day, there is a reason that only three teams in the history of Division I college basketball have come back from a 30-point deficit, and the Orange fell short once again to drop their fifth game of the last six.

And the message was strong after the game.

“We just have to be more consistent in what we are trying to do,” said Coach Autry three times as he will prepare his team for another road ranked matchup on Saturday against the Virginia Cavaliers.