Before Sunday, Belmont’s J.J. Mann had made just one 3-pointer in 16 attempts.
But Belmont coach Rick Byrd said that he wouldn’t let Mann stop shooting them, that Mann was “so darn cocky” he still thought every shot would go in.
In the last 2:22 seconds of No. 12 North Carolina’s 83-80 loss to Belmont, they did.
Mann made three in a row, scoring 11 points — including the go-ahead 3-pointer with 14 seconds left. He rescued the Bruins from a second-half collapse, nullified a 22-5 run by the Tar Heels and led Belmont to just the second non-conference defeat of the Tar Heels at home in Roy Williams’ tenure.
Williams congratulated Mann after the game, recognized Belmont for its efforts and applauded his own team for its second-half comeback after falling behind 41-34 at the half.
But that didn’t shake the feeling in the locker room that UNC never should have been in that position in the first place — that Mann should have never had the chance. There was no solace in the Tar Heels’ second-half efforts.
“I think it means we need to play better in the first half,” sophomore Marcus Paige said. “We’ve had two sluggish first halves, and tonight it came back to bite us. If we make more free throws, we take care of the ball a little bit better and just play a little better defense in the first half, it may not be a one-possession game with 20 seconds left.”
The Tar Heels’ first-half struggles came a game after UNC played what Brice Johnson called the ugliest first half he’s ever seen in a narrow 62-54 win against Holy Cross. The Tar Heels were just 9-for-28 at the free-throw line in the first 20 minutes — sophomore forward J.P. Tokoto alone was 2-for-12. By the game’s end, UNC left 26 points on the board from missed free throws — the most missed free throws in a game under Williams.
Williams said that each player had shot 200 free throws in practice during the week and no player had shot worse than 80 percent.
