Duke 74, UNC 71
FT, mental error ends Heels' comeback
North Carolina rallied from 24 points down against rival Duke and had a chance to take the lead at the foul line with four seconds left. Then, the absolute worst things that could happen happened and the Tar Heels fell to the Blue Devils 74-71 in the ACC Tournament semi-finals. (3/14)

Down 72-71, Carolina's Ven-Allen Lubin drew a foul and went to the free throw line with a good chance to win it. Lubin, who had made all four of his free throws earlier in the game, missed the first of two free throws but he still had a chance to hit the second and possibly send the game into overtime. He indeed hit what would have been the tying free throw but an over-anxious Jae'lyn Withers moved his foot into the lane for a violation that negated the free throw.

Carolina was forced to foul and Duke's best free throw shooter - Kon Knueppel - got the ball on the inbounds, was fouled and hit two free throws to make it 74-71. With a couple of seconds left, the Tar Heels were unable to get the ball to RJ Davis. Instead, big man Lubin had to heave up a three that wasn't close as time expired. Duke, playing without best player Cooper Flagg, had survived.

"I've never seen anything like that before," Knueppel said. "Obviously we were pretty happy they didn't get a chance to tie it."

Earlier, it looked as if it would be a runaway as Duke scored the final 15 points of the first half over the last 4:40 and took a commanding 45-24 halftime lead. The Blue Devils extended the lead to 52-28 before the Tar Heels started their comeback.

Over the next seven minutes, Carolina shaved 10 points off the Duke lead but still trailed by 14. In the final eight minutes, the Tar Heels made some defensive stops and attacked the basket often, absolutely dominating the No. 1 team.

A 24-7 run during that time pulled the Heels within a point when Seth Trimble converted two free throws with 32 seconds left to make it 72-71, setting up the disastrous finish.

An emotional Withers left the court with a towel over his head and teammates consoling him. For his part, UNC coach Hubert Davis wouldn't directly address the play. He was asked a question about lifting Withers' spirits. "It's all of our spirits because we're a team," Coach Davis said. "When we win, we win together and when we lose, we lose together."

He also wouldn't directly answer questions about whether or not his team had done enough to make the NCAA Tournament. He noted that the Tar Heels had been asked about being on the bubble for more than a month during which time the players have been focused on becoming the best team it can. "We've been playing must-win games for a month and we've played our best basketball. That's pretty cool."

In this game, Carolina's recent three-point barrage ended. The Tar Heels, who have been averaging 11 threes a game late in the season, managed only three - and they were all from a surprising source, Elliot Cadeau, who was saddled virtually the entire game in foul trouble. As a result, Cadeau played less than 27 minutes but still scored 15 points, dished out five assists and picked off a pair of steals.

While the Heels were cold from outside, Lubin picked it up in the paint with a team-high 20 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double in the last five games. "He has been consistently high level for a while, giving us that inside presence we need," Coach Davis said.

The other two Tar Heels in double figures were Seth Trimble with 14 points and Drake Powell with 10.

The Heels, now 22-13, must wait until Sunday at 6 p.m. to find out if they did enough to make the NCAA Tournament.

Even if Duke doesn't win the ACC Tournament title Saturday night, the Devils are likely to be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

The Blue Devils, now 30-3, had five players in double figures with Knueppel leading the way with 17 points, 12 of which came in the first half.

Box score