North Carolina broke open a close game only to see Yale come from 12 down but the Tar Heels hung on for a 70-67 thriller at home to give Coach Roy Williams a win that tied him with the legendary Dean Smith at 879 victories.<\/p>\n
Yale used the three ball to come back from a 60-48 deficit and had a chance to tie at the buzzer but Azar Swain, who seemingly couldn’t miss, did just that at the buzzer.<\/p>\n
Carolina missed its first seven shot from the floor as Yale got out to an 11-2 lead early. But the Tar Heels went on a 15-2 run highlighted by a reverse scoop shot by Jeremiah Francis that gave the Heels their first lead.<\/p>\n
UNC led 32-28 at the break but a 7-0 Yale run to start the second half put the Heels down 35-32.<\/p>\n
A 14-2 Carolina run, which included a step back long two and a three by Brandon Robinson, put the Heels in control 46-37. The Heels went up by 13 after back-to-back buckets by Justin Pierce and still led by 12 with just over six minutes to play.<\/p>\n
A 14-5 Yale spurt, which ended with a three by Jordan Bruner, got the Bulldogs within three 65-62 with 47 seconds to go. <\/p>\n
An old-fashioned three-point play by Francis, along with a pair of free throws, held Yale at bay but the Heels couldn’t breathe easy until Swain missed the potential tying shot at the buzzer.<\/p>\n
Despite the exciting ending and the fact that he tied Coach Smith’s win total, Coach Williams’ initial thoughts were with Anthony Harris, who left the game late with a knee injury. Harris was late to start the season due to a bad knee. “My hopes and prayers are that there’s nothing serious there,” he said.<\/p>\n
Robinson, who led the Heels with 20 points, said there was a “mix of emotions” among the players as they felt concern for Harris and happiness for Coach Williams.<\/p>\n
Joining Robinson in double figure scoring were Justin Pierce with 14, Garrison Brooks with 11 and Francis with 10.<\/p>\n
“The first part of the season is over with – let’s see what we can do in the ACC,” Coach Williams said. “We need to improve this week.”<\/p>\n
The Tar Heels, now 8-5 overall, play ACC opponent Georgia Tech Saturday at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n