Andrew Platek’s baseline floater with 3.6 seconds left lifted North Carolina to a 67-65 win over Miami.
The Tar Heels (7-4, 2-2 ACC) rallied from down 10 in the second half in a game where it struggled to find any offensive continuity. For the second straight game, the Heels managed to pull out a victory despite shooting less than 40% from the field in both halves. (They shot 31% in the first half and 37% in the second.)
Junior Leaky Black led the Heels with 16 points. Kerwin Walton’s 13 and Day’Ron Sharpe’s 12 were the only other scorers in double figures.
For Miami (4-5, 0-4), playing without injured starters Chris Lykes and Kameron McGusty, it was another heartbreaking loss. Each of the the Canes' last three losses have been in one-possession games.
Carolina had a rough first half, turning the ball over 11 times and making only nine baskets. Yet, it led 32-30 at halftime. Fortunately for the Heels, Miami was pretty careless with the ball too with eight first half turnovers.
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Black has quietly emerged as a steady scorer for the Heels over the past three games and it culminated with a career-high 16 points. Black made four 3-pointers after he entered Tuesday’s game having made just three all season. He’s now shooting 14 of 23 (60%) from the floor over the past three games.
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The Heels had outscored opponents by an average of eight in points in the paint. The Canes decimated that advantage. Miami scored basket after basket by simply attacking the paint as Carolina defenders offered little resistance. Often the Heels were just out of position or late rotating to help. The Canes finished with a 32-24 advantage in points in the paint, which marked just the second time this season UNC was outscored in that category. Georgia Tech edged the Heels 24-22 in the Yellow Jackets’ 72-67 win.
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Carolina started its fourth different starting lineup in the last four games. R.J. Davis replaced Caleb Love as a starter from the Notre Dame win on Saturday. The remaining four players — Walton, Black, Armando Bacot and Sharpe — stayed the same. Alternating Davis and Love at point guard could be a pattern that continues moving forward. Since they started the first eight games of the season together in the backcourt, Williams hasn’t paired Love and Davis together in the same lineup much.
