Had fans been present, the biggest crowd noise as North Carolina pummeled Louisville, 99-54, Saturday in the Dean E. Smith Center most certainly would have come — not from walk-on Creighton Lebo scoring. Not from Sterling Manley getting off the bench to enter the game for the first time this season. But from the Tar Heels’ falling just shy from surpassing the century mark and securing everyone with a ticket for free biscuits.
Freebies aside, it was arguably the best game the Tar Heels (13-7, 8-5 ACC) have played this season even while considering Louisville was coming off a 19-day layoff due to positive cases of COVID-19 within the program including head coach Chris Mack.
UNC freshman guard Kerwin Walton secured a new career-high scoring the first half as he was perfect in his first five shots – including his first four 3-pointers. He finished with 19 points and a new high with five 3s.
The Heels’ frontcourt proved as dominant as Walton proved efficient as Day’Ron Sharpe (21 points), Armando Bacot (14), Garrison Brooks (12) and Walker Kessler (10) all scored in double digits for the first time this season.
Carolina shot 60.9% from the field thanks in part to scoring 58 points in the paint.
