Hubert Davis identifies area where North Carolina struggled vs. Georgia Tech

North Carolina’s Hubert Davis saw his Tar Heels struggle down the stretch and get upset by Georgia Tech Tuesday night.

The one bugaboo for the Tar Heels Tuesday was hitting their shots from the charity stripe. In a 74-73 loss, that was the biggest difference.

Simply put, Davis credited Georgia Tech for making every shot count.

“Well, I mean, you have to compliment Georgia Tech for stepping up and making plays,” Davis said. “I mean, you just do. A huge bonus for us is our ability to get to the free throw line. We made more free throws than Georgia Tech has even taken. We both took 17 free throws and you know, there’s been very few occasions this year where we haven’t shot the ball well from the free throw line. 

“So nine of 17, that’s uncharacteristic for us and so we didn’t shoot the ball particularly well, especially from three. And during those times, you gotta get stops, you got to rebound, which we did, but you gotta step up and make free throws and we just weren’t able to do that today.” 

The No. 3 Tar Heels dropped to 17-4 on the season and had won eight games in a row up til Tuesday.

“I mean, you know, I was proud of them,” Davis said. “Let’s go back to work. Let’s fly home. Let’s go back to work and let’s get ready for our next game. I mean, you know, whether things work out for you or not, you can lay down, you can whine and complain, you can point fingers and you can make excuses or you can get back up and move forward. 

“To me there’s not really a choice, you just get back up and move forward. And so we’ve done that this year. It’s been a tough and resilient group and we’ll get back up and move forward and become a better team.”

In the loss, RJ Davis led the way with 28 points, five rebounds and four assists. However, he was the only player in double figures for UNC.

Armando Bacot had just nine points, nine rebounds and two assists on the night. Cormac Ryan added nine points as well, but just two rebounds and one assist.

Davis mentioned getting on a plane and refocusing. The Tar Heels have to with Saturday’s contest against arch-rival Duke coming to Chapel Hill.