Hubert Davis made a change in the starting lineup following UNC’s 95-90 loss to Stanford. Davis elected to start freshman guard Derek Dixon over Kyan Evans. Evans struggled on both offense and defense
against the Cardinal, while Dixon has shown flashes while coming off the bench.
The Heels would go on to suffer a rough loss to the Golden Bears, falling behind by as many as 20 points before ultimately losing by a score of 84-78. While Dixon (and almost every other UNC player) wasn’t immune to Carolina’s defensive woes, he was a major reason why UNC climbed back into the game late in the second half. For his efforts, he’s our Player of the Game.
Dixon tied his season high in point, scoring 14 on 5-11 shooting. He also shot 4-8 from distance; crucially, he nailed three three-pointers as UNC dug itself out of a 20-point hole and pulled within three of Cal. His last three-pointer was an off balance shot he buried as the shot clock ran out. Unfortunately, Cal also seemed to realize Dixon was keying the run and the freshman didn’t attempt another shot after that as the Golden Bears blanketed him whenever he touched the ball. He also chipped in with three assists and a steal.
Caleb Wilson deserves an honorable mention. While he wasn’t nearly as dominating as he usually is, he still led the Heels in points, assists, blocks, and steals. Wilson shot 50% and put up 17 points, five rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks.
UNC will try to break an unexpected two game losing streak when they host Notre Dame on Wednesday.
