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Off the cuff: UNC, firing on all cyclinders in the second half, would have won by perhaps 15 points or more had it not been a three-minute span where Wake's Isaiah Mucius hit four straight threes.

Mucius had only four three-pointers in 24 attempts on the season before this game where he went seven of 12 - five in the second half.

He finished with 27 points as did Daivien Williamson, who hit three triples and scored eight from the free throw line.

Wake didn't have enough else to stop the Tar Heels.

Caleb Love played his best game for the Tar Heels. He was seven of 12 from the floor, including two of three from three. Love also had four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.

Back-to-back powerful slam dunks on fastbreaks with about two minutes to play may have been his most dynamic plays of the game and put the Heels up by 12 and the game out of reach.

Tar Heels 80, Wake Forest 83
Solid 2nd half helps Carolina top Wake

North Carolina shot a season-best 55 percent in the second half and freshman Caleb Love scored a season-high 20 points to lead the Tar Heels over Wake Forest 80-73. (1/20)

Carolina, coming off a loss to Florida State after winning three straight, played a dreary first half, trailing 33-31 at the break. During the first few minutes of the game, the Heels were just three of 16 from the field with five turnovers. The rest of the way they went 26 of 46 with seven turnovers.

UNC coach Roy Williams said that his team shot so well in the second half because they got better shots. At halftime the Heels talked about their big guys being stronger going to the basket. They did, especially Armando Bacot who went seven of eight in the second half to finish with 18 points. But the smaller guys also hit shots and didn't turn the ball over.

The biggest thing that happened in the second half was the lack of turnovers, Coach Williams said. Carolina had 12 assists in the second half compared to just three turnovers. Wake Forest turned it over 20 times for the game while UNC turned it over 12 times.

That lack of turnovers in the second half along with a high percentage of shots led to a 49-point second half, the most in a winning effort this season.

A 14-2 run at the start of the second half set the tone for the rest of the game as the Heels led 45-35 with just five minutes gone. Bacot scored five during the run.

A slew of threes from Wake Forest, mostly from Isaiah Mucius, who was seven of 12 from beyond the arc, kept the Demon Deacons in the game. In fact, Wake tied the game at 53-all with 10 minutes left.

A 9-2 Carolina run, highlighted by Love's five points, put the Heels back up by 10 at 69-59 with under five minutes to go. It never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

The Tar Heels had four in double figures. In addition to Love's 20 and Bacot's 18, R.J. Davis added 13 and Garrison Brooks chipped in 10.

Wake Forest falls to 3-6 overall and 0-6 in the ACC. The Tar Heels, now 9-5 overall and 4-3 in the conference, host N.C. State Saturday afternoon if the Pack meets COVID-19 protocols.

Box Score

UNC's Garrison Brooks muscles in on Wake defenders. (UNC sports information photo by Jeffrey A. Camarati.)

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