Hubert Davis addresses UNC's response following the Leaky Black injury

UNC guard Leaky Black left Saturday’s game against NC State with a knee injury. Black was injured in the first half, and did not return to the game. After the game, Davis said Black hyperextended his right knee, and the injury was not overly serious.

At the time of Black’s injury, UNC led 35-22. The Tar Heels went on to hold a 46-29 lead entering halftime, and while NC State won the second half 45-38, UNC ultimately pulled out the 84-74 win. UNC head coach Hubert Davis said that Black tried to play, but the first-year head coach was more concerned with Black’s health moving forward.

“Leaky hyperextended his knee,” Davis said. “The great thing about it is that it’s nothing serious and nothing structurally damaged. But he did hyperextend the knee when he came down when he was contesting a shot in the first half. He felt like he could come out in the second half and play. I wanted to see him warm up. He said he felt good but he didn’t feel 100 percent comfortable cutting and making moves. So we rested him there the rest of the game.

“So even though that it’s not anything serious, he is hurt. And so I’m thinking about Leaky. One of the things that I told him in the locker room is I said, ‘How are you feeling?’ He said, ‘Coach I can play’ and I said ‘I don’t believe you.’ And I said ‘I don’t care about this game, I care about you.’ So my number one concern is not is he going to be available for Syracuse on Monday. My number one thing is is Leaky going to be okay, because I love him to death.”

Davis on UNC’s response to Black’s injury: ‘It was the next man up’

Even though NC State put up 45 points in the second half, Davis was still happy with how other players stepped up in Black’s absence.

“It was the next man up,” Davis said when asked how UNC responded after Black’s injury. “And even though D’Marco (Dunn) and Kerwin (Walton) and Dontrez (Styles) didn’t get as many minutes as Puff (Johnson), I felt like the time they were in the game, they made plays on either end that put us in a position to continue to have the lead. So I’ve talked to you guys a lot about that we have depth and we’ve got guys that, given the opportunity, can step up and play.

“Today was Armando (Bacot)’s night, but I also want to say this, Caleb (Love) was fantastic tonight,” Davis added. “The job defensively that he did on (Terquavion) Smith, our willingness and unselfishness of our guards to understand where our advantage was and get the ball into the post, understanding when to pass, when to be aggressive offensively. I thought Caleb and RJ (Davis) were off the chart as well. So it was a good team victory against a really good NC State team.”

Puff Johnson put up 16 points in 29 minutes off the bench, also grabbing five rebounds. Three other Tar Heels scored in double digits, as Armando Bacot had 28 and Brady Manek and Caleb Love each had 16.

UNC is now 21-8 on the year and 13-5 against ACC opponents. The Tar Heels have two games remaining, including a big matchup at Duke on Saturday to end the regular season.