Nate Britt provides spark off the bench in win over NC State

Down 21-16 with just over eight minutes left to play in the first half, Joel Berry pushed the ball down the court after a steal by Brice Johnson. The sophomore point guard looked for Justin Jackson in transition, but his pass was too high.

Turnover North Carolina.

At this point in the game, things weren’t looking good for Coach Roy Williams’ fifth-ranked team. Marcus Paige had just two points and a turnover, while shooting 1-for-3. Johnson hadn’t tallied a rebound or a point. Jackson was 0-for-3 from the field. Kennedy Meeks had just two points.

Fortunately for the Tar Heels — who ultimately defeated N.C. State 67-55 on Saturday — they had other options just waiting on the bench.

“I knew I should never have made that pass,” Berry said of the turnover. “When I turned around I saw Nate (Britt) coming in for me.”

Britt — who entered Saturday averaging seven points in just over 18 minutes per game — subbing in proved to be a turning point in the win over the Wolfpack (10-8, 0-5 ACC).

On his first possession, Britt grabbed a defensive rebound and then nailed a 3-pointer on the other end of the court to cut the deficit to 21-19. The next? Britt stole the ball from N.C. State’s Caleb Martin and assisted on Johnson’s transition dunk to tie the game at 21.

In addition to the crowd inside the Smith Center, UNC (16-2, 5-0 ACC) was back in the game.

“I think that kind of changed the momentum of the game,” Britt said of his sequence in the first half.

Williams agreed.

“Story in the first half was Nate Britt was the only guy that gave us a chance,” he said. “I thought he really picked us up defensively, and in the second half, I thought Nate and Joel defensively (picked us up) and Kennedy on the offensive end.”

While Britt’s performance might not jump off of the stat sheet — he scored three points, grabbed three rebounds and had four assists — Cat Barber’s stat line shows just how well Berry and Britt managed to limit the ACC’s leading scorer, as Barber finished with a season-low nine points and five turnovers.

“He’s super quick, so we just wanted to contain him,” Britt said. “We wanted everyone to try to be aware of where he was at all the time. He was the focus of the game.”

While Williams emphasized Britt’s defensive contributions, Berry provided a second scoring threat on a day where Paige, Johnson and Jackson combined for just 15 points.

The sophomore guard scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from behind the 3-point line.

“I think a lot of guys are a lot more confident this year,” Berry said, “So if Marcus isn’t having a great game offensively, I think we have other pieces that we can use to be able to score.”

Johnson has proven that ability this year. Jackson has proven it. Berry has proven it. Britt, Isaiah Hicks and Meeks have all proven it. 

If there’s one thing Saturday’s game showed about this team, it’s that Paige can finally afford to have games where he isn’t that great — or even very good.

“It’s not going to be every night that Marcus is off like that,” Berry said. “But when he is, you know, we still have some other players who can contribute.”

@CarlosACollazo

sports@dailytarheel.com