Davis Scores 30 To Lead MBB Past Arkansas, 87-72

Friday, November 24

Paradise Island, Bahamas

1 PM

North Carolina

5-1,0-0ACC

Arkansas

4-3,0-0SEC

Arkansas

North Carolina

RJ Davis

Photo by: Maggie Hobson

November 24, 2023 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS—RJ Davis scored tied his career high with 30 points to lead No. 14 North Carolina to an 87-72 win over Arkansas on Friday afternoon in the third-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis at the Imperial Arena at the Atlantis resort.

A day after scoring a season-high 23 points in a loss to Villanova, Davis topped that effort with 30 against the Razorbacks, tying his career-best effort of 30 points against Baylor in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. He connected on 9 of 18 shot attempts and drained all 10 of his free throw tries in a stellar 34 minutes.

Seth Trimble scored a career-high 12 points for Carolina, and Harrison Ingram had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Carolina improved to 5-1 with the win, bouncing back strongly after Thursday's overtime loss to Villanova. Arkansas fell to 4-3.

The Tar Heels led by as many as 12 points in the first half before allowing the Razorbacks to rip off a 15-4 run and head into the locker room with a 38-35 lead. Tramon Mark hit all eight of his field goal tries to score 20 first-half points for Arkansas.

The Tar Heels shot 58.6 percent from the floor in the second half (17 for 29), maintaining a lead and not allowing the Razorbacks to climb back into the game. Carolina outscored the Razorbacks in the paint, 38-24.

Mark finished with 34 points in a losing effort for Arkansas.

How It Happened
First Half
• The Tar Heels jumped out to a 14-4 lead in the first five minutes and built a lead that grew to as many as 12 points in the first half.
• Carolina had a 12-0 initial edge in points off turnovers before the Razorbacks cut that deficit to 12-8 at halftime.
• Bacot and Davis sat on the bench in the later portions of the half with two fouls apiece. Bacot had five points and two rebounds in 11 first-half minutes.
• Arkansas closed the first half on a 15-4 run to take a 38-35 lead into halftime, forcing the Tar Heels to miss 8 of their last 10 shots of the period.
• Mark shot 8 for 8 from the floor, including 2 for 2 from three-point range in 14 first-half minutes.

Second Half
• Carolina built a 59-50 lead by the 11:21 mark of the second half by hitting 8 of its first 15 shots in the second half (53.3 percent).
• The Tar Heels finished by hitting 58.6 percent of their field goal attempts in the second half (17 of 29).

Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• Graduate student Cormac Ryan missed the game with a sprained right ankle suffered in the closing moments of Thursday's loss to Villanova.
• Freshman Elliot Cadeau made his first career start in Ryan's place and finished with seven points, three assists and two turnovers.
• Carolina improved to 5-3 all-time in the Battle 4 Atlantis.
• The Tar Heels are now 8-3 all-time against Arkansas.

Up Next
UNC will return home to host Tennessee on Wednesday November 29 in the inaugural installment of the ACC/SEC Challenge. The Tar Heels will then host Florida State in their ACC opener on Saturday December 2.

Follow Tar Heel basketball on X at @UNC_Basketball and @UNCMBBstats and on Instagram at UNC_Basketball.