North Carolina, with an NCAA bid hanging in the balance, came from 15 down to lead No. 1 Duke by six with under 13 minutes to go. That’s when the Blue Devils went on a 12-0 run and Carolina managed just 10 points over the last 12 minutes of the game as Duke won 82-69 on UNC’s senior night. (3\/8)<\/p>\n
“Once we were ahead by six, our shot selection during that time was not the best and it led them out into transition,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. <\/p>\n
In the first half, with Duke’s super freshman Cooper Flagg in foul trouble and UNC’s fifth-year player RJ Davis lighting it up, the Tar Heels, down 36-21, turned the game around and pulled within a point at the half, 43-42. <\/p>\n
After Davis scored 15 in the first half and five early in the second half as the Tar Heels went up 52-47, Duke shut him down over the final 17 minutes of the game. <\/p>\n
Carolina managed its biggest lead at 56-49 on a Ven-Allen Lubin bucket in the lane less than five minutes into the second half. But with the Tar Heels still ahead 59-53, Duke exploded for 12 straight points in less than three minutes to gain control of the game at 65-59 with less than 10 minutes to play. A Flagg dunk follow and a fastbreak dunk by Maliq Brown highlighted the stretch. <\/p>\n
Then Brown, who had hit only two of nine three-pointers on the season, knocked the Tar Heels out with a pair of threes. Meanwhile, a tired Carolina went cold, shooting only 32 percent in the second half and 39 percent for the game. <\/p>\n
Duke shot 61 percent in the second half and 56 percent for the game as Kon Knueppel led four Blue Devils in double figures with 17 points. <\/p>\n
The Tar Heels were actually winning the points in the paint battle 24-22 before being outscored 29-10 over the last 12 minutes when the Devils controlled the points in the paint 18-4. <\/p>\n
“We were getting to the basket and scoring and then (after the first few minutes of the second half) we weren’t able to score or draw any fouls,” Coach Davis said.<\/p>\n
Flagg, who was saddled with three fouls in the first half in just nine minutes of play, played the entire second half without being called for a foul.<\/p>\n
Carolina, now 20-12 and 13-7 in the ACC, saw a six-game win streak come to an end and figures to need a deep run in the ACC Tournament in Charlotte to reach the NCAA Tournament. They’ll open ACC tourney play Wednesday as the fifth seed in a 2:30 pm matchup against the winner of the Notre Dame-Pittsburgh game. <\/p>\n
With their eighth straight win, Duke moves to 28-3 overall and 19-1 in the ACC to take the league regular season title outright. <\/p>\n