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BASKETBALL

North Carolina Suffers Their Third Straight Loss As Wofford Knocks Them Off In Chapel Hill 68,64

North Carolina lost to Ohio State in the ACC/ Big Ten Challenge in Chapel Hill then went to Charlottesville where they lost to Virginia and in their most recent game they not only were without their point guard Cole Anthony who averages 19.1 points per game as he is out indefinitely with a knee injury while they were also without Leaky Black who has a foot injury as North Carolina suffered their third straight loss to Wofford in Chapel Hill by a score of 68-64.

Garrison Brooks had 17 points and 12 rebounds for North Carolina in its first regular-season game at Carmichael Arena since Jan. 4, 1986. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-unc-wofford-recap.aspx


Brandon Robinson added a career-high 16 points for the Tar Heels, who lost their third straight game. They cut Wofford's lead to 65-61 with 51.5 seconds remaining but got no closer. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-unc-wofford-recap.aspx

North Carolina (6-4) played without starters Cole Anthony (right knee) and Leaky Black (sprained right foot). The school said treatment plans are being evaluated for Anthony, the second-leading scorer among freshmen nationally, who is averaging 19.1 points. “according to https://goheels.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-unc-wofford-recap.aspx

Wofford meanwhile started their tour of triangle off with a win in Chapel Hill before they return to the triangle for a Thursday night game in Durham against North Carolina’s tobacco road rival Duke.

For the second time in three seasons, the Wofford men's basketball team upset the nationally-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, defeating the 17th-ranked Tar Heels 68-64 at historic Carmichael Arena on Sunday night. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

"That was fun," said Wofford head coach Jay McAuley. "It was an unbelievable effort by our team and one that my coaching staff and I are very proud of. We've got a lot of respect for North Carolina and Coach Williams and we're thankful for the opportunity to play on this stage again. And boy did we play well. I'm really proud of those guys." “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

The win is Wofford's second win over an Associated Press Top 25 team in program history, with the other coming on December 20, 2017, in the Dean E. Smith Center against the fifth-ranked Tar Heels 79-75. Sunday's game was played in North Carolina's Carmichael Arena due to a scheduling conflict, and was the first regular-season men's basketball game there since 1986. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

"There's so much tradition in general here," said McAuley. "But particularly in this facility with all the history that have been here, we knew there was a lot going into this game. We have about five or six guys from two years ago and from last year that competed in this series, so they knew what it was going to take and they certainly led the charge with our younger guys, and it was a total team effort." “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

Wofford scored 15 points off turnovers, committing just 5 while forcing 11. With the team battling foul trouble (21 total), the bench continued its strong play, outscoring the Tar Heel reserves 24-8 in the win. Wofford shot 37.9 percent from the field, knocking down 14 threes (14-40) and dishing out 19 assists. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

Trevor Stumpe scored a game-high 19 points to go with five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Storm Murphy totaled 15 points with Messiah Jones scoring 13 points, grabbing five rebounds and blocking three shots. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

Murphy was active early, setting up Stumpe for a three before knocking one down himself. North Carolina pulled ahead by one, but 3-pointers from Tray Hollowell and Murphy put Wofford in front 14-11. The Tar Heels held a slight advantage, but Wofford knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to pull ahead by seven around the seven-minute mark.”according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

After North Carolina took the lead, the Terriers battled back, getting a pair of 3-pointers from Murphy and a three-point play from Jones that knotted the game up at 28-28. Stumpe scored a pair of buckets inside to make the game 32-32, but the Heels scored the last four points of the half to go into the break ahead 36-32. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

"First half, I got some open looks which was great," said Murphy. "My teammates and coaches were telling me to keep shooting. In the second half, I tried to impact the game in other ways. When we moved the ball, UNC was scrambling a bit and we got a lot of open looks."“according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

Stumpe connected on another trey to start the second, with Goodwin scoring inside to give Wofford a one-point lead. After North Carolina took the lead back, Nathan Hoover knocked down his first 3-pointer of the night to even the game at 42-42. Donovan Theme-Love, Isaiah Bigelow and Stumpe all connected from behind the arc, with Jones grabbing an offensive board and scoring inside to make the score 53-42 in favor of the Terriers. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

North Carolina climbed back into the game, scoring seven unanswered but Stumpe hit three free throws and fed Jones inside for a slam that made the score 60-51. The Tar Heels cut the lead to four, but a Jones steal and layup out of a Wofford timeout put the Terriers back ahead by seven. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

"With guys returning from two years ago, we knew what it was going to take," Stumpe said. "In the second half, we were up double-digits and they went on a run but we just stayed even-keeled and stayed with our game plan." “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

North Carolina's Anthony Harris drained a three to make the deficit just four with 51 seconds to play, but the Terriers avoided the Tar Heels' trap as Stumpe found  Hoover for the game-sealing 3-pointer. “according to https://woffordterriers.com/news/2019/12/15/mens-basketball-terriers-take-down-no-17-north-carolina-68-64.aspx

North Carolina will likely be out of the AP Top 25 poll after their loss to Wofford as they head to Spokane Washington where they will face Gonzaga who will be ranked unlike North Carolina.

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