Nov. 17, 2008

UNC Statistics in PDF Format

By Ben Baden

Chapel Hill - Assistant coach Robert Johnson guided the North Carolina men's junior varsity team (3-0) to its third straight win, downing Pitt Community College, 101-69.

Head coach C.B. McGrath couldn't attend Saturday's game because of food poisoning from the night before, so former players Robert Johnson and Michael Cvelich were at the helm.

With the unexpected loss of McGrath, Johnson decided it would be best to give all 11 players an equal shot at playing time.

"We had 11 guys, and we feel like all 11 players can contribute and bring something to the table," Johnson said. "We basically subbed 5 in 5 out and had everybody play an equal amount of time and stay fresh. About every 3 minutes or so we would sub."

Patrick Crouch and C.J. Scott both came off the bench to finish with 15 points. Crouch lit it up from behind the arc, making four three-pointers on five attempts, while Scott shot a solid seven of ten from the field. Daniel Bolick, Van Hatchell, Ryan Delapp, Thomas Thornton and Claude Shields also finished in double figures for the Tar Heels.

The Bulldogs, who fielded their first basketball team since the 1994 season, put up a good fight in the first half, only trailing by nine at half time, but the Tar Heels ran away with the game in the second half outscoring their opponent by 23 points.

"They're definitely the best team we've played so far," Johnson said. "Once we started playing sound fundamental defense it kind of negated their athletic ability."

This season's Tar Heels have been able to push the ball well, and because of that they're averaging 102 points per game in their three wins.

"I think the team is coming together as a cohesive unit," Johnson said. "I think we're doing a better job of getting out and running the break.

"That's a tribute to us getting better at secondary break and primary break and turning our defensive pressure into offense."