2011 ACC Tournament Quarterfinal Recap - North Carolina vs Miami

(1)North Carolina 61, (9) Miami 59

North Carolina didn’t lead the game until there was 0:00.1 on the clock, but it survived to preserve its eight-game winning streak and advance to the ACC tournament semifinals after escaping Miami 61-59 in an unlikely comeback on Friday afternoon in the ACC quarterfinals.

Miami dominated the Tar Heels for the first 32 minutes of the game. The Hurricanes led 13-8 less than four minutes into the game, and the Tar Heels had committed nine turnovers when Roy Williams pulled all five starters and replaced them with his “blue steel” team of walk-ons for the next 90 seconds. After returning, the starters were able to tie the score at 20 with four minutes remaining in the half before Miami surged on an 11-2 run to carry a 31-22 lead into the locker room at the break. UNC committed 15 turnovers in the half and shot only 30 percent from the field. Miami had 9 steals and hit 41 percent of their shots, and held the lead despite leading scorer Adrian Thomas going scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting beyond the arc.

The Hurricanes continued to dominate at the start of the second half, with Thomas finding his range from three and UNC continuing to commit turnovers. Miami led by 19 points, 53-34, with 9:34 remaining after a Reggie Johnson lay-up, but Johnson was whistled for his fourth foul shortly thereafter, and UNC responded. The Heels trailed 55-39 with eight minutes remaining when four successive threes from Leslie McDonald, freshmen Kendall Marshall (twice), and Harrison Barnes cut the deficit to 55-51 with 5:12 on the clock. Miami would only score four more points, missing three of five foul shots down the stretch, and Carolina would tie the score at 59 – for the first time since the 20-20 stalemate – with 43 seconds on the clock. Miami fumbled a pass from the top of the key by Thomas with 19 seconds remaining, and the game was the Heels’ to win at that point. After Miami fouled twice to force UNC to the bonus limit, Kendall Marshall received the inbounds pass with five seconds remaining and drove the lane, drawing Johnson on defense before dumping the ball across the paint to Tyler Zeller who laid in the winning bucket with 0.1 second remaining just before the buzzer sounded.

Barnes led the Tar Heels with 18 points. Zeller had 13 points and nine rebounds – most of them after Johnson received his fourth personal. McDonald had 11 points, and John Henson had 10 points and 13 rebounds in the winning effort.

Malcolm Grant topped scoring for the Canes with 16 points, followed by Thomas, Johnson, and Durand Scott with 12 points each. With this game, 7 of Miami’s 10 conference losses were by four points or fewer.

Carolina’s chances for a high seed in the NCAA tournament were preserved with the win. The Tar Heels will take on Clemson, winners over Boston College 70-47 in the second quarterfinal, at 1:00 Eastern time on Saturday. The Heels swept the regular season from the Tigers, winning 75-65 in Chapel Hill, and 64-62 in Clemson.

By: David Minter
DFN Sports Staff Writer