Louisville Cardinals vs North Carolina Tar Heels Box Score on Feb 20, 2021

Day'Ron Sharpe and Kerwin Walton combined for 40 points and North Carolina routed Louisville 99-54 in Atlantic Coast Conference play Saturday at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Sharpe had 11 rebounds to go with his 21 points for his fifth double-double of the season and Walton scored a career-best 19 points as the freshmen took charge for the Tar Heels (14-7, 8-5 ACC).

Garrison Brooks added 12 points and Walker Kessler had 10 as North Carolina remained unbeaten at home at 8-0. It was a season high in points for the Tar Heels.

The Tar Heels took command midway through the first half, breaking an 18-18 tie and outscoring the Cardinals 30-11 to head into halftime with a 48-29 advantage.

Walton had already matched his previous high of 14 points in the first half and Sharpe had 12 in 11 minutes before the break.

The Tar Heels maintained their double-digit cushion throughout the second half, cruising to the 45-point victory. The closest the Cardinals got was 15 points twice within the first five minutes of the second half.

Carlik Jones led the Cardinals with 13 points, under his team-leading 17.4 per-game average. Second-leading scorer David Johnson was held to six points after he entered with 13.1 points per game.

The Cardinals (11-5, 6-4) were playing their first game in 19 days because of COVID-09 concerns and traveled with just 10 players. Louisville shot only 32.8 percent from the field and 6.3 percent (1 of 16) from 3-point range while committing 16 turnovers that led to 26 points for North Carolina.

The Cardinals came into the game holding opponents to 40.1 shooting from the field, but allowed the Tar Heels to shoot 60.9 percent, including and 64.7 in the second half.

Louisville was without backups Josh Nickleberry and Aidan Igiehon, but Malik Williams made his season debut after recovering from November foot surgery.

Williams scored four points and had three rebounds in 17 minutes. Coach Chris Mack also was back on the bench after being sidelined by COVID-19 for 10 days.

--Field Level Media