Pete Nance shares his thoughts on go-ahead basket vs. Syracuse

The Tar Heels survived late on the road against Syracuse, picking up win number 15 on the season in a 72-68 victory. After hitting the eventual game-winning shot against Syracuse on Tuesday night North Carolina forward Pete Nance caught up with some members of the press and shared his thoughts on the basket to beat the Orange.

“I think, obviously, he missed the free throw; all the credit to Leaky for making the play happen. He got up and got his hands on the ball. And it was headed out of bounds, and Gerard saved the right to me. I think that’s just the story about the night; not giving up and knowing that the game is never over. So, all the credit to Leaky for making that happen,” said Nance.

“Yeah, I was bobbling the ball and jumping and bobbling it. I finally gathered it and was able to lay it. It was; definitely, it all happened super fast. I was super surprised that I got it. But I was just glad I was able to lay it in.”

The front court of Nance and Armando Bacot took control of the game for the Tar Heels leading their squad to victory. Bacot finished the game with 18 points, eight rebounds, and four assists. At the same time, Nance led North Carolina in scoring with 21 points and had four rebounds and three assists of his own.

The Tar Heels will have this weekend off, and their next game will be on Wednesday. North Carolina will post the Pittsburgh Panthers in a Wednesday night matchup at home. This contest should favor the Tar Heels for currently one of four ACC teams who remained undefeated at home. This season, the Tar Heels are 10-0 when playing in the Dean Smith Center.

Nance rave about toughness of RJ Davis

UNC guard RJ Davis displayed his toughness during a rough and tumble battle Tuesday against Syracuse.

Davis took multiple hard bumps and falls during the game before having to leave after taking an elbow to the face from Judah Mintz.

Head coach Hubert Davis said after the game that Davis is fine and his teammates applauded his toughness.

Transfer forward Pete Nance said Davis’ performance made him a hero of the game, which the Tar Heels won 72-68.

“RJ is tough,” Nance said. “He took that first one and got back up and came in and made some big time plays and that was probably one of the biggest plays in the game, him taken that charge, sticking his nose in there. He was kind of underlying hero of the game.”