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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC forwards come up big

Tyler Zeller goes up for a close-range shot at UVa. His four clutch free throws tied the game late in the second half.
Tyler Zeller goes up for a close-range shot at UVa. His four clutch free throws tied the game late in the second half.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Go big or go home.

It’s an aphorism repeated by UNC-Chapel Hill students on Franklin Street numerous times each weekend. And though the slogan has justified more than a few ill-advised decisions over the years, it was good advice for the UNC men’s basketball team during halftime of its 62-56 win at Virginia on Saturday afternoon.

“Just getting the ball inside, that’ll open it up for everybody because they were double-teaming,” UNC forward John Henson said. “Just getting some easy buckets, and just kind of build around that. And that’s what happened.”

At the time, the Tar Heels trailed the Cavaliers 37-30 and had not made a basket for the past three minutes and 56 seconds.

Of equal concern, Henson and Tyler Zeller, the team’s starting forwards and two of its three leading scorers, had taken just two shot attempts during the final nine minutes of the half. The Cavs outscored UNC 19-6 during that stretch.

Those nine minutes were a sharp departure from the beginning of the game, when Henson, Zeller and back-up power forward Justin Knox attempted shots on eight of UNC’s first 15 possessions to help the Tar Heels build a 22-13 advantage.

UNC lost its poise when the Cavaliers started coming back, and a spate of turnovers caused the Tar Heels to start settling for quick, outside jumpers instead of pushing the ball to its big men in the paint.

“The first eight or ten minutes, we were executing and then all of the sudden we just started turning the ball over and we just got ugly,” UNC coach Roy Williams said.

The Tar Heels opened the second half with a new mindset, but had little to show for it in the beginning. Zeller received a pass on the low block on UNC’s first trip down the floor after intermission, but promptly threw the ball out of bounds.

The turnover was followed by a period where Henson and Zeller peppered the rim with close-range jumpers, hook shots and lay-ups, only to see each of the four attempts rim out of the basket. Zeller finally scored nearly five minutes into the half to end UNC’s 8:53 scoring drought.

“It was (frustrating), but that’s going to happen to a team,” Henson said. “You’re not going to shoot perfect every game.”

From there, the Tar Heels’ front-court trio started to click. Zeller and Henson scored eight straight points, four of which came from Zeller free throws, to give UNC the lead with 3:15 to play.

After Virginia tied the game on the next possession, it was Knox who put the Tar Heels ahead for good with a pair of free throws of his own.

“We knew that we had to get it inside, and they started getting in foul trouble inside, which makes it even easier for us when their starters aren’t in,” Zeller said.

Midway through their ACC opener Saturday afternoon, the Tar Heels went big. Then they went home — victorious.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.

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