Tar Heels fight through exhaustion, defeat Wildcats

It was an exhausting week for the No. 14 North Carolina men’s basketball team.

Seven days ago, UNC (8-3) defeated then-No. 11 Kentucky. Wednesday, redshirt senior guard Leslie McDonald was reinstated and hours later the Tar Heels were upset by Texas. A 5 a.m. practice followed the loss, and the next day P.J. Hairston’s UNC career was over.

“It was just like losing a brother,” said junior James Michael McAdoo, who had 19 points in UNC’s 97-85 overtime win against Davidson. “Everybody’s a little funked out. I don’t know if that affected us a lot today, but it definitely adds a sour note to this time of year.”

That’s a lot to handle throughout the span of a season, never mind in a week.

So, when the Tar Heels looked sluggish for the majority of regulation in their win against Davidson Saturday, it was a bit easier to understand why their usual intensity was lacking.

“I was just exhausted,” said guard Marcus Paige, who finished with 17 points, all coming after halftime. “It was kind of a long week. We had a couple tough practices. We had a physical game against Texas. It took me awhile to get into the game. I didn’t feel like myself for 30 minutes.

The Wildcats took advantage of the UNC’s lackadaisical play, forcing nine ties and 14 lead changes throughout the 60 minutes of regulation.

A box-and-one defense all but took Paige, UNC’s leading scorer out the game, holding him scoreless until 8 minutes 17 seconds remained in the second half. And when newly reinstated 3-point threat McDonald was on the court, the Wildcats employed a triangle-and-two to neutralize both of the Tar Heels’ credible long-range threats.

“They played him really hard and played Leslie really hard,” coach Roy Williams said. “At times they were playing triangle-and-two. They were face-guarding those guys, trying to make it difficult for them to get shots. They did a nice job of it.”

But as Wildcat Brian Sullivan’s last-ditch 3-point attempt clanked off the rim, sending the Tar Heels into their first overtime of the season, a new energy began coursing through the sweat-drenched Tar Heels, carrying them through the five-minute bonus period.

UNC’s signature hype song “Jump Around” blared through the Smith Center for the third time Saturday evening, and the crowd, once complacent and quiet, roared to life — all ingredients that led to a near-flawless overtime period.

“I think we knew once we got into overtime, we could finally get over the hump, and we did,” McAdoo said.

The Tar Heels hit all three field goals, including Paige’s only 3-pointer, and connected on 11 of 12 free throws — something that was emphasized following the shoddy performance from the charity stripe against Texas.

“I couldn’t really find any energy the whole game, but for a couple plays at the end, and then overtime crunch time and overtime,” Paige said. “I love that big moment, when the game is on the line, that’s when it gets really fun.

“I guess I just had a little bit left in the tank that I found and was able to get some things to go.”

After the five-minute sprint to close out the game and capture a double-digit win that looked near impossible in regulation, the Tar Heels were wiped.

Sitting in the player’s lounge in the Smith Center, they paused to catch their breath, a look of relief on their faces.

Despite a trying week, full of obstacles and challenges, the Tar Heels emerged from Saturday’s ugly battle victorious, greeted by the arrival of a short, yet welcome and necessary break — especially for Paige, who played a season-high 41 minutes Saturday.

“Guys are going home tonight so everybody is home 22, 23, 24, 25, and then comes back here for practice the night of 26,” Williams said. “Hopefully, (Paige) will lay in bed and eat momma’s cooking.”