North Carolina breaks away from UCLA in second half, wins 89-76
Junior guard Isaac Hamilton led UCLA with 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting in Saturday’s loss to No. 11 North Carolina. Hamilton hit his first four three-point attempts as the Bruins built an early 11-point lead in the first half.(Daily Bruin file photo)
By Matt Joye
Dec. 19, 2015 12:53 p.m.
UCLA had its chance, trailing No. 11 North Carolina by just three points with 9:34 to go.
Freshman guard Aaron Holiday had two free-throw attempts, with the opportunity to cut that lead to one point. He missed both, and the Carolina cavalcade was on.
North Carolina embarked on a 13-0 run after those missed free throws, removing any hope for UCLA’s third upset win in as many weeks. The Tar Heels cruised to an 89-76 victory, snapping the Bruins’ five-game win streak.
The game really started to unravel for No. 22 UCLA (8-4) in the final stretch of the first half.
The Bruins led by as many as 11 points with 10:00 to go in the first period, buoyed by four 3-pointers from junior guard Isaac Hamilton. But after that initial surge, North Carolina became the aggressor, pushing the ball in transition whenever possible and attacking the basket at will. The Tar Heels (9-2) outscored the Bruins 23-12 over the final 10 minutes in the first half, and the game entered halftime deadlocked at 38-38.
In the second half, North Carolina kept its foot on the gas, pushing ahead to a 46-38 lead by the 18:05 mark. UCLA fought back to cut that North Carolina lead to just three points at the 9:34 mark, but the Bruins were never able to get any closer.
Preventing the Bruins from pulling off another upset were three things: poor transition defense, faulty defensive rebounding and turnovers. The Tar Heels had 14 fast-break points, 11 second-chance points and 24 points off turnovers. UCLA had 17 turnovers in the game, compared to just nine for North Carolina.
North Carolina pushed the tempo relentlessly, averaging just 12.5 seconds per possession in the second half, as UCLA struggled to get back on defense.
There was one stretch during the second half where the Tar Heels made 10 straight field goals without a miss, increasing their lead to 84-68 with 3:55 to go. That led UCLA coach Steve Alford into slamming his clipboard and breaking it in half on the sideline.
When it was all over, the Bruins allowed 51 second-half points, even though they only allowed three 3-point baskets in the period. North Carolina simply took it to UCLA, particularly on the fast break.
Before the season, sophomore center Thomas Welsh said one of the things UCLA needed to work on was transition defense. After Saturday’s game, it’s apparent that transition defense is still a pressing concern.
Compiled by Matthew Joye, Bruin Sports senior staff.
