The UNC Basketball program had another battle in the first half on Friday against Arkansas and followed it up with a strong second half.
During the third-place game in the Battle 4 Atlantis, it appeared early that the UNC Basketball program was about to run away with the game against Arkansas. Even without Cormac Ryan playing, the Tar Heels jumped out to a quick 14-4 lead in the first 5 minutes of the game. They held a 23-11 with 10:00 remaining in the first half and led 31-23 with 4:17 remaining.
However, the Razorbacks didn’t go away easily. They used a 20-8 run to tie the game at 31 with 2:38 remaining in the first half as the Tar Heels went through a cold streak, missing two of their last ten shot attempts. Ultimately, Arkansas finished the half on a 15-4 run over the final 4 minutes to take a 38-35 lead into the halftime locker room.
At the break.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/KDhwzmbPBM
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) November 24, 2023
North Carolina opened the second half on a 24-12 scoring run in the first nine minutes, giving them a 59-50 lead with 11 remaining. Tramon Mark converted on two free throw attempts with 7:02 left to cut the deficit to six at 67-61, but the Razorbacks wouldn’t get any closer.
The Tar Heels stretched the lead back out to 79-66 with 3:39 remaining and never looked back, securing an 87-72 victory in the third-place game in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
.#CarolinaFamily | @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/BKADlpTat0
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) November 24, 2023
Similar to the Thanksgiving Day game versus Villanova, one of the main reasons UNC Basketball’s opponent was in the game was due to an outstanding individual performance. Mark (who had to be taken off the court in the final minutes on a stretcher, and we hope he is okay) was 13-17 from the field, including 4-6 from three, scoring 34 points for the Hogs. For comparison, the rest of the Razorback team was a combined 13-38 and 1-11 from three.
The good news for the Tar Heels on Friday was a great performance of their own from RJ Davis. Davis had a season-high 30 points and had a massive role in the second half. Davis was 9-18 from the field and 10-10 from the free-throw line. Seth Trimble was also a key contributor off the bench for North Carolina.
HUGE minutes from Seth Trimble.
12 pts | 4-5 fg | 2-2 3fg | 4 reb pic.twitter.com/ekt9Nl7q2s
— Carolina Basketball (@UNC_Basketball) November 24, 2023
One other Tar Heel scored in double figures as…
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