The North Carolina men’s basketball team (12-6, 5-1 ACC) won its fourth straight ACC matchup, defeating California (8-9), 79-53, Wednesday night at the Smith Center.
First-year guard Ian Jackson led the Tar Heels with 20 points, while sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau added 15. UNC held Cal’s leading scorer, Andrej Stojakovic, to only six points. The Golden Bears shot just 35 percent from the field.
“This is the first time in a long time that we’ve played defense for the entire game,” head coach Hubert Davis said.
Jackson and first-year forward Drake Powell scored five quick points for UNC in the opening minutes. Jackson drilled a deep three and Powell grabbed a rebound before going coast-to-coast for a layup. The Tar Heels led, 9-6, at the first TV timeout.
Cadeau helped the Tar Heels build a double-digit lead halfway through the first half. He made his first four field goals, including a top-of-the-key 3-pointer. He assisted Jackson and graduate forward Jae’Lyn Withers on fast-break buckets. Junior forward Jalen Washington added six points, all scored on mid-range jump shots.
Stojakovic missed his first six shots and did not score until the 5:25 mark in the first half.
Graduate guard RJ Davis scored his first points of the game with under a minute to play in the first half, a 3-pointer from the left wing to give UNC a 39-29 lead going into the break.
After a slow start to the second half, the Tar Heels extended their lead. With 13 minutes to play, Stojakovic drove into the paint. Junior forward Ven-Allen Lubin blocked his left-handed shot before running the floor and scoring on the other end. At the under-12 timeout, UNC led, 55-39.
“We just kept our foot on the gas,” Washington said. “Stayed locked in on our key principles to win the game.”
