This one was hard to explain.
Wofford defeated the fifth ranked University of North Carolina, 79-75, Wednesday night at the Dean Smith Center, snapping the Tar Heels’ 23-game home winning streak. It was arguably the biggest upset of the young season.
Guard Fletcher Magee scored 27 points in the win, leading the Terriers (8-4) to their fifth straight victory. Cameron Jackson added 18 points and 9 rebounds. The Heels’ last home loss was to Duke on Feb. 17, 2016. It was UNC’s first home loss to a non-conference team since falling to Iowa Feb. 3, 2014.
It was the first win for Wofford against an AP Top 25 opponent ever and their second this year over an ACC opponent. The Terriers, who were picked to finish sixth in the Southern Conference pre-season poll, defeated Georgia Tech two weeks ago.
“You come in here and see all these banners, you better believe you can play,” coach Mike Young said. “Awfully proud of these guys. We played our tails off at the defensive end. This is a terrific win, it’ll make the Christmas holiday more enjoyable.”
North Carolina (10-2) led by as many as seven points in the first half, but Wofford used a 13-0 run to close out the first half and open up the second to seize control. The Heels didn’t help themselves, shooting just 35.7 percent from the field and missing four threes to tie. The Terriers led by as many as 13 points with 12:26 before Carolina closed to gap to one possession with 1:22 left in the game but Magee refused to let the Terriers collapse. Magee shot 10 for 23, including four three pointers and had no turnovers in 39 minutes.
He overshadowed the highly anticipated debut of North Carolina wing Cam Johnson, who finished with 10 points and three rebounds since transferring from PItt last season.
The Tar Heels, who were sloppy with the ball and struggled to make consistent stops defensively, have been flirting with disaster recently, needing a late rush in the final minute to beat Tennessee Sunday in Knoxville. They shot 36 free throws in the game as compared to 18 for Wofford, but UNC missed 10 of them. Guard Joel Berry scored 23 points for Carolina and forward Luke Maye added 17 points and 14 rebounds.
