North Carolina finished their season a perfect 18-0 with their 67-63 win over Clemson on Tuesday night. The win also put the Tar Heels one step closer to securing a double bye in the ACC Tournament next week. Clemson closed the first half on a 7-0 run that put them up 30-27, but the Heels turned it on in the second half behind Luka Bogavac.
Bogavac was a force in the second half, scoring 17 of his season-high 20 points. He hit six three-pointers, the only Tar Heel to do so in a single game this season.
His team needed virtually every single one of those points as Clemson refused to go away. Henri Veesaar was the only other Tar Heel in double figures with 13 points and six rebounds, but he fouled out late. A couple big shots by Seth Trimble and Derek Dixon helped slam the door in Veesaar’s absence. Trimble, Dixon, and Jarin Stevenson all finished the game with nine points.
Clemson out-shot the Heels, 45%-40%, in the second half. The big difference was Bogavac’s threes and UNC’s 9-13 mark from the free throw line. The Tigers were limited to just six attempts at the free throw line for the game. After turning the ball over six times in the first half, UNC turned it over just three times in the second half.
The Tigers got 22 points from RJ Godfrey to lead their scoring. Just one other player, Carter Welling, ended up in double figures. Godfrey’s efforts were nearly enough, though, as he went 10-13 from the floor and grabbed nine rebounds.
It was very nice to see Bogavac be the shooter he was billed as coming into the season. It certainly came at a great time with hopefully more to come. The Tar Heels have absolutely weathered the storm without their best player aside from the absolute stinker in Raleigh. It’s been pretty much the best anyone could have hoped for as new players stepped up to fill the void.
UNC closes out the regular season on Saturday in Durham when they take on Duke. Perhaps it will also be the return of Caleb Wilson. We will see.
