Late signs of life lift North Carolina

In its ACC opener at Virginia, the North Carolina men’s basketball team proved it had some fight in it. But in Thursday’s game at home against Virginia Tech, the Tar Heels made this toughness a habit.

UNC trailed by as many as 16 in the first half, but battled back for a thrilling 64-61 win.

“You’ve got to keep playing, you’ve got to keep plugging along,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “The kids are maturing, and I think that’s huge.”

The night did not start promising for the Tar Heels. After being stuffed by UNC forward John Henson on a drive to the basket two and a half minutes into the game, Va. Tech guard Malcolm Delaney made himself at home behind the 3-point arc.

The two-time All-ACC selection had eviscerated the Tar Heels from downtown, scoring 15 first-half points on 5-of-7 3-point shooting. He’d finish the game with 28 points.

On offense, the Tar Heels struggled mightily to get into a rhythm in the half-court and appeared lackluster on both ends of the floor through most of the first half. With the Hokies leading 28-14, Va. Tech’s Jarrell Eddie fought through both Tyler Zeller and Dexter Strickland to corral a rebound midway through the half, seemingly underscoring the gap in intensity between the two teams.

It was shortly after that UNC’s Kendall Marshall kick-started the Tar Heel comeback. The freshman point guard made a pair of bank shots on back-to-back possessions and fed John Henson on an alley-oop that fired up the Smith Center crowd.

The Tar Heels finished the first half on a 9-0 run that closed the gap to 31-24 before halftime.

“(Marshall) came up big,” Henson said. “He’s impressive as a point guard and he kind of runs the show and it’s like his mind and everything, he was built for that spot.

“I’m thankful for him right now. He pulled us through to the end, and hopefully he can keep it going.”
The Tar Heels picked up where they left off after the intermission, and took the lead 43-42 on another Henson dunk from a Marshall assist.

Again, Delaney caused problems for UNC, making a pair of free throws to give the Hokies back the lead and assisting on a Manny Atkins 3-ball on the next possession.

But with his team trailing late, much-hyped freshman Harrison Barnes lived up to the words on his T-shirt shortly after he arrived in Chapel Hill. For the last four minutes of the game, Barnes was finally “that dude.”

The preseason All-American drained a jumper to tie the game at 52 and then a 3-pointer from the left wing to give UNC its final lead on its next possession. He’d add another three to give UNC a 60-56 lead with 1:32 left. Barnes had eight of his 12 points in the last 3:38.

“You always have to have that idea of yourself in the back of your mind,” Barnes said.

“Just because you miss shots early, you can’t be afraid to take them later.”

The Hokies would cut the lead to one, but Delaney’s 3-point attempt with eight seconds remaining bounced off the front of the rim, and Marshall grabbed the rebound to preserve the UNC win.

“I’m looking at that ball as it was going through the air,” Williams said. “I thought it was short, but all the sudden it looked like it got closer and closer. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but it was big for us to get the rebound.”

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@dailytarheel.com.