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Free throws propel UNC basketball past Kentucky

Junior Tyler Zeller is fouled by Darius Miller in Saturday’s physical game. UNC went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe in the foul-heavy final 81 seconds of play.
Junior Tyler Zeller is fouled by Darius Miller in Saturday’s physical game. UNC went 9-for-10 from the charity stripe in the foul-heavy final 81 seconds of play.

Down the stretch against Kentucky, North Carolina hit and missed every free throw it needed.

Dexter Strickland went to the line with six seconds remaining after his team made eight consecutive free throws in the previous 80 seconds.

The sophomore guard made his first to put his team up by two while Kentucky had zero timeouts. He clanged the second shot off the rim.

“That was on purpose,” Strickland said. “If we were gonna be up by three we’d have to foul and it’d be a one-point game, so I missed on purpose.”

Kentucky grappled for possession of the defensive board before throwing a desperation heave that went awry as the buzzer sounded.

“We were trying to foul so they wouldn’t shoot a 3-point shot, but Dexter said he had a better idea,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “He’d just miss the free throw and let it be tapped around for a while.”

UNC went 26-of-37 from the charity stripe in the game, including 9-for-10 in the final 1:21.

Tyler Zeller started the 81-second stretch by knocking down both free throws after a Darius Miller foul. One minute later he went 2-for-2 again when Josh Harrellson fouled out of the game.

“We were not fouling 44,” UK coach John Calipari. “‘Do not touch him.’ So we kind of broke down there a little bit. But that happens with a young team.”

Kentucky already had two players foul out of the game when Eloy Vargas got his fifth of the contest. Vargas got the fatal foul following a Larry Drew II defensive board.

With UNC up one with 20.9 seconds left, Williams walked onto the court demanding a low-five from his point guard. Williams slapped his hand violently as Drew tried to muffle a smile.

After the break in play, Drew confidently swished the two free throws.

“There at the end he knew what we were trying to do,” Williams said. “He understood and he was making sure everyone on the floor knew what they were supposed to do.”

Absent from the floor in the final three minutes was John Henson due to his shortcomings at the line. A 35 percent free-throw shooter, Henson airballed back-to-back free throws in the second half and went 3-for-7 for the game.

“It’s a struggle for him from the foul line, but he’s working at it,” Williams said. “He’s trying to make them, he’s working at it and he’s going to get better at that.”

But his presence wasn’t severely missed, as Zeller couldn’t miss from the line.

“I was either gonna go to the line or they were going to give me a lay-up, so it was their choice,” he said. “They put me at the line, and once I got there I just had to knock them down.”

But as important as free throws were for his team, Williams said what saved his team Saturday isn’t stressed at practice.

“I don’t talk much about free throws,” he said. “We shoot some and get the heck out of the gym.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.

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