North Carolina’s Joel Berry, hampered by a bad ankle, returned to form and sub Luke Maye had his best game as the Tar Heels stopped Bulter 92-80 to advance to the Elite Eight.

Berry hit from outside and drove to the basket to lead all scorers with 26 points. His seven points during a 14-0 run early in the game helped open it up. Carolina led just 13-12 when the Heels went on the run.

A Maye three gave the Tar Heels their biggest lead of the first half at 30-14 midway through the half.

Carolina hit eight of its nine threes in the first half to take a commanding 52-36 lead at the break.

Maye hit three of them and finished the game with a career high 16 points and 12 rebounds. “I just wanted to get to an open spot and my teammates found me,” Maye said.

In the second half, the Heels got the lead as high as 20 several times – the first being a Berry drive by layup that made it 63-43 with 14:38 to go.

A 13-4 Butler run midway through the half cut the lead to 11. It got as close as 10 at 76-66 with six minutes to go as the Heels had troubles from the foul line (at one point going just six of 14 in the second half).

A pair of free throws by Nate Britt, in a one-and-one situation, seemed to right the ship and the game never seemed to be in doubt again.

“It’s a game of runs,” said Justin Jackson, who scored 24. “We tried to stay focused and stay poised, as coach likes to say.

Though Jackson and Berry scored more than Maye, they both gave him a lot of credit for the win. Jackson said he was huge and the Heels need him to keep it up. Berry said Maye gives the Heels an advantage to have a big guy who can step back for a three or open up the spacing to allow the guards to drive.

Coach Roy Williams didn’t seem surprised by Maye’s effort. “What Luke did today, we see a lot at practice,” he said. “He gave us a big lift.”

Coach Williams said Maye is a good shooter and rebounder with a lot of savvy. “But he’s going to be successful because of what he has in his brain and his heart,” he said.

The other big guys didn’t contribute as much offensively but Kennedy meeks did haul in 11 rebounds. Meanwhile Isaiah Hicks fouled out with nine points in 17 minutes of play.

The Tar Heels shot 54.4 percent for game compared to 43.5 for the Bulldogs. Plus, the Heels outrebounded Butler 38-26.

Carolina, now 30-7, play the winner of UCLA-Kentucky on Sunday afternoon.

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