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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
A Maye three gave the Tar Heels their biggest lead of the first half at 30-14 midway through the half.<\/p>\n
Carolina hit eight of its nine threes in the first half to take a commanding 52-36 lead at the break.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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).<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Tar Heels shot 54.4 percent for game compared to 43.5 for the Bulldogs. Plus, the Heels outrebounded Butler 38-26.<\/p>\n
Carolina, now 30-7, play the winner of UCLA-Kentucky on Sunday afternoon.<\/p>\n