The Tar Heels held the lead most of the way and while the game result rarely seemed in danger, they couldn’t pull away either. Poor foul shooting ensured that.
Carolina missed seven second-half free throws including five in the last minute and a half as Virginia Tech made it iffy at the end. Leslie McDonald hit the second of two free throws with 4.8 seconds left to wrap up the win.
“I screamed at Leslie for him to hit the free throw,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “That was very intelligent.”
But he was frustrated that the Virginia Tech zone defense bothered his club throughout and his players couldn’t seem to hit free throws down the stretch.
“It was a workmanlike effort for us,” Williams said, praising James Michael McAdoo’s second half effort.
McAdoo scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half including eight during a four-minute stretch late.
A power dunk by McAdoo with 6:56 left put the Heels up by nine, their largest lead of the game, at 49-40.
For more on the game, please click here.