Enduring a mistake-ridden first half, the No. 3 North Carolina men's basketball team (17-3, 9-0 ACC) came back in the second to defeat Florida State (12-8, 6-3 ACC), 75-68, on Saturday evening at the Tucker Center.
A 24-point performance from senior guard RJ Davis, coupled with a season-high 16 points from first-year guard Elliot Cadeau, lifted the Tar Heels past a scrappy Florida state side.
Following his 14-point performance against Wake Forest earlier in the week, Cadeau initiated the Tar Heel offense early. The former five-star recruit opened the scoring with a layup and a pair of free throws, before dishing out three straight assists to wide-open Tar Heel shooters.
By the arrival of the first TV timeout, UNC had knocked down its first four 3-point attempts — two by Davis and another pair from junior forward Harrison Ingram.
However, a Seminole response midway through the first half kept the Tar Heels from pulling away early. Florida State answered the quartet of North Carolina triples with four of their own as it brought UNC’s 11-point lead down to four by the under-eight timeout.
Continued Seminole pressure combined with a sporadic first-half pace forced problems for the Tar Heels. North Carolina turned the ball over 12 times in the period, leading to 19 FSU points off of UNC’s mistakes.
The Seminole’s 15-3 run late in the half vaulted Florida State into a five-point lead by the break. Davis led UNC in scoring with 10 points in the first half, while Ingram snagged 10 boards to go along with six points.
North Carolina responded well out of the break, tying the game at 48 apiece by the 17-minute mark. Two baskets by Davis in transition, along with back-to-back triples from graduate guard Cormac Ryan, brought UNC level.
The down-hill attacking of Cadeau and Davis wreaked havoc for FSU’s guards. Cadeau glided past multiple defenders to finish at the rim — including a 3-point play to excite a 10-0 Tar Heel run.
