Off the cuff: Coby White wasn't looking very good in the first half as he turned the ball over three times within a few minutes and found himself on the bench beside UNC coach Roy Williams a couple of times. But, boy, he was great in the second half. The Tar Heels wouldn't have won without him. He ended up with 33 points on only 16 shots. He hit seven of 10 threes and didn't turn the ball over in the second half. An old-fashioned three-point play and a drive to the hoop, followed by a three from the left win early in the second half put the Heels up 47-40. But the Heels couldn't stop Miami from hitting threes. They had 12 of them in the second half. Trailing 61-54, the largest deficit, White stroked in a three from the right side at the end of the shot clock to draw Carolina to 61-57. A White three with five minutes left kept the Heels in striking distance at 66-63 and then his three from the right wing put the Heels up 68-66. After the Heels fell behind again, 69-68, White banged in a three from the left corner to put the Heels up again, 71-69. A White three with 41 seconds left kept Carolina in it before Luke Maye's three tied it to send the game into overtime. While Williams and Maye hit big shots in overtime, it took White slapping the ball away from Chris Lykes in the closing seconds to secure the win. "We fought and fought and fought," White said. "The coaches believe in us and we believe in ourselves. Miami hit some tough shots but we came through it." |
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