UNC Defeats Wyoming 76-63 as Sayon Keita Records Six Blocks

UNC Defeats Wyoming 76-63 as Sayon Keita Records Six Blocks

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First-year center Sayon Keita recorded six blocks and eight rebounds on Tuesday night to help the North Carolina Tar Heels secure a 76-63 victory over the Wyoming Cowboys at the Dean E. Smith Center.

The Daily Tar Heel reported that Wyoming repeatedly capitalized on offensive rebounds, including a single possession featuring four missed shots and three blocks by Keita.

About six minutes into the contest, Wyoming guard Neil Summers drove inside for a turnaround hook shot that Keita blocked. The ball bounced to the perimeter, and the Cowboys collected the offensive rebound. Uriyah Rojas missed a subsequent 3-pointer, but Wyoming retained possession.

Madden Smiley then drove for a layup that Keita swatted away again. Summers gathered the rebound amidst a crowd of defenders, and though Keita fouled him on a subsequent attempt, Smiley was positioned to corral the ball and extend the possession yet again.

North Carolina Center Sayon Keita Highlights vs. Wyoming — ACC Digital Network

Smiley tried the same layup a fourth time, and Keita rejected it toward the left wing for sophomore guard Neo Avdalas. First-year wing Maximo Adams recalled thinking during the sequence, “Like, what are we doing? Come on,” as The Daily Tar Heel reported.

Despite those early struggles securing defensive rebounds, Keita finished the first half keeping the Tar Heels afloat. At just 18 years old, the Bamako, Mali, native ultimately tied the second-most blocks in a single game for a UNC first-year, adding three steals to his stat line. “Sayon, man, he’s just a beast at the rim. He blocks everything around the rim,” said sophomore guard Isaiah Denis.

Head coach Michael Malone described the performance as a statistical breakthrough. Malone said that Keita had previously displayed similar defensive abilities and pick-and-roll dynamism during an exhibition matchup against Indiana.

With Keita managing just one defensive rebound by halftime, Malone challenged his roster during the intermission. Malone said he called out nearly every player on the team regarding their lack of defensive rebounding, telling them to hit someone and stop ball-watching.

The message resonated immediately after the break. Keita collected a defensive rebound following a block on Khaden Bennett to start the second half. Minutes later, after Avdalas missed a free throw, Keita leaped to tip the ball, gathered it, and scored on a floater.

“Sayon got us five extra possessions by himself,” Malone told The Daily Tar Heel, pointing to the five offensive rebounds Keita secured in the second half alone. Those extra chances included an alley-oop dunk from Avdalas that preceded another defensive rebound and block.

Denis said that Keita’s quiet demeanor off the court contrasts with his active presence in the paint. Having spent four seasons with FC Barcelona before arriving in Chapel Hill, Keita punctuates his plays by lingering on the rim and looking down at opponents.

“I like to say if I were to know Spanish, I think he would act kind of like us, talk a little bit of trash,” Denis told The Daily Tar Heel.

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