The Miami Hurricanes (21-8, 10-7 ACC) spoiled senior night for the No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels (22-8, 11-6 ACC) 91-88. Despite being outscored 52-47 in the second half, the Hurricanes were able to hold off the Tar Heels on a last-second three-pointer by senior guard Ja’Quan Newton.
Newton nailed a running 30-footer as time expired for the win. North Carolina had just tied the game 88-88 on a three-pointer from senior guard Joel Berry II with 4.1 seconds left. After a quick review, the officials made it official.
Miami took a 44-36 lead into halftime and were up as much as 16 in the second half before the Tar Heels made their comeback. The field goal percentage is almost identical with the Hurricanes with the slight advantage 54.8 to the Tar Heels 54.4. Miami hit 50% of their three-pointers while North Carolina was 48%.
The game-winning shot was Netwon’s only three of the game. He finished with 15 points on 5-11 shooting including 4-4 from the free throw line. The Hurricanes had 6 out of the 8 players that played, score in double figures. Freshman Chris Lykes led the way with 18 points but also committed five turnovers.
For the Tar Heels, Berry II had a game-high 31 which also matches his career high. The loss snapped a six-game winning streak. Senior guard Cameron Johnson added 20 points for the Tar Heels. Junior forward Luke Maye (14 points, 10 rebounds) and senior forward Theo Pinson (12 points, 11 assists) both had double-doubles for North Carolina.
Despite being up by 16 in the second half, the Hurricanes didn’t have their first lead in the game until 8:02 in the first half when junior center Ebuka Izundu made a layup to bring the score to 22-21. They would never trail again in the game. It was Miami’s third win in a row.
Next up for the Hurricanes is their own senior night March 3rd against Virginia Tech.
For the Tar Heels they take on rival No. 5 Duke also March 3rd.
