Off the cuff: The game at Clemson looked like it might be like many hard-fought games down there where the teams battle back and forth and then Carolina pulls away late to win by eight to 10 points. But this game was anything but normal. First, UNC coach Roy Williams had perhaps his worse case of vertigo during a game and went to the locker room with less than a minute until halftime - and he didn't come back. Then, the Heels worked the lead up to nine once and seven several times but it got closer toward the end rather than Carolina opening it up late, as they are apt to do. Coach Williams spoke to the media briefly at the end of the game before yielding to interim head coach Steve Robinson. "I just wanted to let you know I'm alive and not going to croak on anybody," Coach Williams said. He said he started feeling better by the time Carolina had opened up a six or seven-point lead but he didn't want to jinx Robinson. He said his hiring Robinson was one of the best decisions he ever made. For the record, the margin was two when Coach Williams left the game and the margin was two at the end of the game. A lot happened in between however. UNC's Sterling Manley saw a little action after being out injured since December. The lead changed hands four times even though Carolina was in control much of the second half. Luke Maye, who scored just two points in the first half, responded well in the second half with 11 points. With the Heels down 54-50, Maye hit a three from the right wing to make it 54-53. Then he made a spinning move for a basket and drawing a foul. The old-fashioned three-point play put Carolina back up 56-54. It took another senior, Kenny Williams, to give Carolina the lead for good on a jump shot that made it 58-57 and to keep the lead with three of four free throws late. |
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