The UNC freshman guard penetrated through the Cavaliers' defense before getting himself trapped just a few feet from the basket.
Manuel jumped and lobbed a pass out to an open Jason Capel, who easily scored to cut Virginia's lead to 69-67. The basket was an example of UNC performing well under pressure, something it has struggled with this year.
On the next possession, Virginia's Roger Mason Jr. drove up the court with Manuel trying both to guard and not to foul the 90.6-percent foul shooter. Manuel didn't succeed -- an example of a costly mistake under pressure.
Mason made both of his free throws, stretching the lead to 71-67. Virginia turned on the defensive heat, and the Tar Heels couldn't score, leaving the Smith Center crowd of 20,079 to witness North Carolina's third straight loss.
"We didn't want to foul Mason, that was clear," said UNC coach Matt Doherty. "I hate to talk about inexperience, but there were some plays of inexperience down the stretch."
Mason hit nine of 10 of foul shots, which made up for his dismal shooting from the floor. He was 4 of 13 and missed all of his shots in the first half.
Virginia (10-2, 1-2 in the ACC) entered halftime up by four, but the Tar Heels (5-8, 1-3) started a 12-0 run on a Capel jumper with 17:23 left in the game.
UNC's eight-point lead was the biggest advantage either team had all game, but the Tar Heels couldn't build on it and then couldn't maintain it.
The Cavs tied the game at 50 on Mason's only 3-pointer of the afternoon, and the two teams continued to battle for control throughout the rest of the game.
