CHAPEL HILL, N.C. –– Early dominance from the Tar Heels led to a 86-70 win over Louisville Wednesday night.
After playing their most complete game against the Orange on Jan. 13, No. 4-North Carolina has extended their win streak to seven. At nearly the halfway point of the season, UNC is 14-3 overall and 6-0 in thenACC in what’s been their longest winning streak under third-year head coach Hubert Davis.
While RJ Davis carried the scoring drive for the 11th game this season (21 points and six assists) it wasnJae’Lyn Withers who provided a spark off the bench. The graduate transfer had a near perfect game over his former team – shooting 5-of-6 from the field and 5-of-7 from the free throw line.
In his last season with the Cardinals, Louisville finished an abysmal 4-28, so Withers entered the transfer portal in hopes of joining a winning team— and he did just that.
“You know, we just don’t win this game without J-Wit, he was fantastic,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis said. “And we needed him to have his best game of the season and I’m just really happy and I’m really proud of him.”
Withers recorded his first double-double and season highs in points and rebounds with 15 and 10 respectively.
“It was definitely special,” Withers said after the game. “I think it was great not only to have my first double-double as a Tar Heel, but to have that against my previous team. That alone says it all.”
Withers came alive in the second half, scoring 10 points in that period putting on his best performance fornan eager crowd. While most of his magic happens behind closed doors in practice, per Armando Bacot, Withers athleticism is something the Tar Heels needed and he showed out.
“He does a lot of stuff in practice that y’all don’t know about,” Bacot said. “I wish y’all could actually see some of the things he does. I think he’s starting to find his way and it’s been great, because he’s a high-level player. He could do a lot of things.”
With 8:02 left in the contest, he was fouled by former teammate Kaleb Glenn and was set up for a perfect AND1 layup that nailed his season-high, which at the time was 12 points. And with just over three minutes left, he was the proponent behind another Davis 3-pointer.
It was a manic sequence that saw Withers tiptoe the sideline as he scrambled for a loose ball before driving it back inside and finding Harrison Ingram who hauled it to an open Davis in what was yet another classic catch and shoot opportunity for North Carolina.
“I’m super happy for him. Just the way he was able to get to the bucket,” Davis said of his teammate. “His aggressiveness and his presence were felt on the defensive end and he had a huge impact coming into this game. That’s something that we need from him for the rest of the season.”
The Charlotte native put it all together last night and his energy provided us with a snapshot of his potential for the remainder of the season.
“I think that with me playing with that much activity, something like this could happen every night,” Withers said.
Wednesday’s performance was just his second double-digit performance as a Tar Heel, but he’s said that as his comfort level grows, more greatness will come.
“What he brings to the table, we just don’t have,” Hubert Davis said. “We don’t have that type of length and athleticism. Like the dunk he had at Pittsburgh, there’s nobody on the team that can do that. So because of his length and athleticism, we’re allowed to do a number of things defensively.”