UNC's RJ Davis scores career-high 26 points, drains clutch three-pointers late against Brown

North Carolina sophomore guard RJ Davis delivered a career-game in Friday's 94-87 win against Brown, though it came seemingly out of nowhere.

Davis played more of a facilitating role in the first half, sitting at six points and three assists with just under two minutes left in the period. With the No. 19 Tar Heels down by six to the Bears, Davis connected on a pair of timely three-pointers to tie up the game.

That moment — though the Tar Heels still trailed by three at the half — foreshadowed Davis’ late-game heroics.

UNC and Brown worked themselves into a stalemate for most of the game, with both teams answering almost every shot their opponents made. North Carolina found itself down 77-75 with just over seven minutes remaining in the game, and it looked as though an Ivy League team that missed more than a year of competitive basketball before the season began was going to knock off the hosting Tar Heels.

But the Bears' lead did not hold up too long, as Davis came down and drained a three-pointer to put his team up by one. UNC managed a stop on defense, and sophomore guard Caleb Love found his backcourt running mate for another clutch triple to extend the lead.

Though he continued to catch fire, the open shots Davis got were indicative of the looks he got all night.

“My teammates were able to find me," Davis said. "And I was able to knock down shots."

After Davis’ fourth three-pointer of the game, the fans could not contain their excitement – as if they wanted to – but the Bears quickly silenced the crowd with an and-1 opportunity the next play.

With under two minutes remaining in the contest, it was only a one-possession game. Up by three, Davis connected on his fifth three-pointer of the night. Brown answered with a three-pointer in its next possession, and the UNC lead returned to just three.

Shortly after, Davis found himself wide-open on the wing once again, and it was bombs away for his career-best 26 points.

Of UNC’s nine three-pointers, six of them came from the guard from White Plains, N.Y. And every time he made one, Davis caused the Dean Dome to rock, as all six shots couldn’t have come at a better time. 

“I feel like my confidence was through the roof,” Davis said. “I fed off my teammates' energy and the crowd’s energy.”

It was junior forward Armando Bacot who initially dominated the game for North Carolina. He finished the night with 22 points, 14 of which came in the first half. After he continued to score early in the second half, Brown brought more defensive attention to him.

“In the second half, they started double-teaming me,” Bacot said. “So it was a lot of easy kick-outs and just moving the ball around. We found RJ a lot in the second half, and he made some huge shots that propelled us to the win.”

Bacot started to pass out of the post to open shooters, namely Davis, who connected more often than not from beyond the arc.

To complement the sharp-shooting of Davis, North Carolina cemented the win by getting late stops. The team struggled defensively for much of the game, but stopped the visiting Bears on enough possessions to hold on to the late lead.

For the majority of the game, however, head coach Hubert Davis did not think his team was up to par on that side of the ball.

“We want to be individually, and as a team, great on the defensive end,” he said. “And tonight, for the most part, we weren’t.”

Friday’s game showed the areas that UNC needs to improve, but the star of the game kept everything in perspective.

“It’s only the second game of the season,” RJ Davis said. “We learn from the mistakes, and we grow from it.” 

@jerem11ah

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