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Off the cuff: Let's be honest. The way Jake LaRavia was controlling the game - hitting everything, drawing fouls, stealing the ball - Carolina probably would have lost this game no matter what.

Wake was hot, focused and solid on both ends of the court. But it was a poor effort by Carolina. A lot of bad decisions, especially by supposed floor general Caleb Love.

Love put up bad shot after bad shot, making only three of 15. He turned the ball over four times with at least two of them unforced. And he never settled the Heels down. He never looked in control.

There were a number of non-calls that irritated the Carolina bench - most notably they thought Wake players were getting away with traveling.

One of the most egregious non-calls came when Carolina was on a 7-0 run, possibly on the cusp of making it a 9-0 run. A Wake defender slapped the backboard during a shot by the Tar Heels but it wasn't called. Instead, Carolina was soon thereafter called for a foul and Wake converted both free throws to halt the Carolina run.

The Tar Heels, with all six losses on the road, need to win the next three ACC contests at home to stop the bleeding.

Wake Forest 98, Tar Heels 76
Carolina blown out again as Wake rolls

For the second game in a row, North Carolina was blown out. This time Wake Forest hurt the Tar Heels feelings with a 98-76 whipping in Winston-Salem. (1/22)

Three Demon Deacons - Jake LaRavia, Alondes Williams, Daivien Williamson - combined for 73 points with LaRavia, an Indiana State transfer, doing the most damage with a career-high 31 points.

"Williamson, Williams and Laravia were the best players on the floor. And it wasn't even close," UNC coach Hubert Davis said. "We didn't have anybody that could guard Laravia - he controlled the entire game. He punched us in the mouth at the beginning of the game, and Alondes and Daivien, they could get into the paint at any time that they wanted."

Early, it looked as if it would be one of those conference games that go down to the wire as there were six ties and five lead changes in the first 12 minutes.

But Carolina's shooting didn't improve and Wake's did. The Deacons shot 52 percent in first half to take a 46-36 lead into the break while the Heels managed to hit only 30 percent.

Wake shot even better in the second half and finished at 54 percent while Carolina finished shooting only 33 percent for the game.

"When we don't shoot the ball well from the outside and Armando (Bacot) doesn't have a dominant game and we're not lights out defensively, it's gonna be difficult for us against really, really good teams."

Carolina was actually still within shouting distance four minutes into the second half when it looked as if R.J. Davis was going to cut the deficit to seven as he was going in for a fastbreak layup. But he was called with pushing off and the Heels still trailed 59-50.

A 12-2 Wake Forest run, highlighted by three three-point buckets by Damari Monsanto over the span of just one minute, turned the game into a rout as the Deacs took control at 71-52.

The Tar Heels were led by Brady Manek's 22 points while Davis added 19. While Bacot didn't have his normal overpowering performance, he still managed 12 points and 12 rebounds after getting in foul trouble in the first half.

North Carolina, now 12-6 and 4-3 in the ACC, plays three straight at home starting with Virginia Tech Monday, Jan. 24. Wake Forest improves to 16-4 overall and 6-3 in the ACC.

Box Score

UNC's Brady Manek led the Tar Heels with 22 points against Wake Forest. He kept Carolina in it with 13 points in the first half. (UNC Sports Information photo)

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