No. 11 UNC men's basketball defeats No. 7 Oklahoma in Jumpman Invitational

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – With dominant defense, the No. 11 North Carolina men’s basketball team (8-3) snapped a two game losing skid and picked up its best win of the season, defeating No. 7 Oklahoma (10-1), 81-69, Wednesday night in the Jumpman Invitational.

UNC forced 18 turnovers – 10 of which were Tar Heel steals – and scored 24 points off of them. 

Both teams struggled offensively in the opening minutes. The Tar Heels’ first bucket was a transition three from senior guard RJ Davis after graduate guard Cormac Ryan dove on the floor to win a 50/50 ball. Oklahoma started the game 0-5 from the field, and UNC got out to an early 7-2 lead.

As the shot clock was running down, Davis drilled a deep stepback three that put UNC ahead by double digits. The Sooners then found their footing, but the Tar Heels led 16-11 at the under-12 timeout.

The Tar Heels were everywhere on the defensive end in the first half, clogging up driving and passing lanes and forcing turnovers. On one occasion, North Carolina junior forward Harrison Ingram ripped the ball away before taking it coast-to-coast and finishing. On another, sophomore guard Seth Trimble denied Otega Oweh, leading to a runout and Ryan layup that gave UNC a 34-24 advantage.

North Carolina forced 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes, and, despite an emphatic alley-oop jam from Jalon Moore to end the half, the Tar Heels led 36-28 at the break.

Just as Davis scored the first North Carolina points in the first half with a three, he did the same in the second. And then added another triple a minute later to push the UNC lead to 44-32.

With 12:24 to go in the second half, graduate center Armando Bacot found himself all alone with the ball in his hands on the perimeter. He buried the triple, and then Davis contorted his body to finish a tough layup on the next offensive possession, forcing the Sooners to call timeout down 14 points.

The Tar Heels continued to dominate the turnover margin in the second half and were first to many 50/50 balls. Trimble knocked the ball off of Javian McCollum out of bounds before sophomore forward Jalen Washington slammed home a putback dunk on the ensuing possession to make the score 63-48.

Oklahoma cut the lead to seven at the under-four timeout and then five with 3:01 to go. But Davis and Ingram came in clutch with late baskets late in the shot clock, and UNC was able to hold on down the stretch.

The Tar Heels now will break for Christmas before returning to action at the Smith Center against Charleston Southern Dec. 29 at 7 p.m.

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