After getting up by 11 in the first half, North Carolina went ice cold the rest of the game and fell at Georgia Tech, which came up with a basket in the last eight seconds to snap the Tar Heels’ 10-game win streak 74-73. (1/30)
Trailing 72-68 with two minutes to go, the Heels got a three from Harrison Ingram and then RJ Davis went coast to coast with 35 seconds left to give Carolina a 73-72 lead.
Georgia Tech held the ball before freshman guard Naithan George banked a high arching runner left of the lane over the much taller Armando Bacot for a 74-73 lead with 7.7 seconds to go.
UNC called a timeout with 4.6 seconds left and set up a play for Davis, who was the only player doing much scoring for the Heels. Davis made contact and put up a 10 footer as he fell to the floor but it fell short. He vehemently argued for a foul call but it never came.
“I couldn’t see what happened on the other side of the court,” Coach Hubert Davis said about the last play, noting that the Heels got a good shot off. “I just saw RJ on the ground and the game was over.”
Hitting just 36 percent of their shots and only nine of 17 free throws, the Tar Heels probably didn’t deserve to win but, in light of five touch fouls called on UNC’s Elliott Cadeau in the second half, the Tar Heels thought Davis should have been at the line at the end.
“We had 17 free throws and only made nine,” Coach Davis said. “If we make our normal percentage, it’s a different game.”
The Tar Heels usually make more than 75 percent of their free throw attempts.
Carolina looked good early, getting out to a 23-13 after an aggressive Jalen Washington dunk with 11:48 left in the first half. Still up 36-25 after a three by Cormac Ryan with 5:32 left in the half, Carolina was outscored 12-1 with Georgia Tech tying the score at 37-37 at the half.
The game stayed close the rest of the way with five lead changes. “In the first half, (Georgia Tech) played like they were the more hungry team,” Coach Davis said. “In the second half, we played with energy and effort but down the stretch they made one more play than us.”
Two plays really as Kyle Sturdivant, who led the Yellow Jackets with 18 points, banked in an inprobable three with 3:24 to go that put Tech, now 11-11, up by four.
The Tar Heels, who were led by Davis’ 28 points, fall to 17-4 and 9-1 in the ACC with a matchup with rival Duke at home set for Saturday night.
For a box score and more on the game, please click here.