UNC swats Yellow Jackets, 78-65

ATLANTA — Perhaps it was too early for James Michael McAdoo to get on his team’s case.

About midway through the first half of North Carolina’s 78-65 win against Georgia Tech, the mild-mannered junior forward and co-captain took his seat on the sideline.

Before a team manager could place a towel over his shoulder and a Gatorade cup in his hand, McAdoo yelled down the bench while repeatedly clapping his hands together.

For the past few weeks, coach Roy Williams’ favorite three words have been “sense of urgency.” And early on in the night, after UNC had braved through a snowstorm to finally reach McCamish Pavilion, McAdoo knew his team wasn’t playing with the motivation, the passion, that the Tar Heels had finally found and flourished in their 80-61 win against Clemson.

“Just trying to get the guys energized,” McAdoo said of the moment. “Sometimes guys, and as a team, we just get into funks. I was just trying to be a leader, be positive and take that role in what I say and how I play.”

McAdoo’s outburst seemingly took its effect immediately. But it didn’t last for the rest of the first half.

After UNC (13-7, 3-4 ACC) pieced together a solid run, the Yellow Jackets (11-10, 2-6 ACC) answered, finishing off the opening 20 minutes of play on a 10-2 run, capped by a mental lapse from UNC sophomore forward J.P. Tokoto.

As Georgia Tech’s Trae Golden raced down the court and began to throw up a prayer just seconds before the half ended, Tokoto extended his arm and collided with Golden at half court.

“I’m not really dreading on it anymore, but at halftime I was kind of killing myself,” Tokoto said. “But the overall mood was just go back out there and show them how much better we can play.

“And we did.”

After shooting just 12-for-39 from the field in the first half, UNC found its offensive rhythm, shooting 66.7 percent in the final 20 minutes of the game.

The tale of the two halves for the Tar Heels was embodied through UNC leading scorer Marcus Paige, who scored just two points in the first half on 1-for-7 shooting before making all six of his shots in the second.

“We’ve played 20 games, and I think he’s had one half that’s much, much better than the other half in 15 of those 20 games,” Williams said. “I can’t explain it. If I could explain it, I’d go ahead and let him sit on the bench the bad half, and play him the other half.”

Paige connected on three 3-pointers in the second half, the last of which he made in front of the UNC bench that brought about a towel slap on the butt from McAdoo, who sat the majority of the final 20 minutes of the game after picking up his fourth foul with 15:49 left in the game.

But whenever his team needed a pick-me-up, McAdoo was there, even if that meant he had to show a little emotion, to stress that UNC’s two consecutive ACC victories have boiled down the three words its coach keeps on repeating.

“We’re on a two-game winning streak, but we’ve got a long ways to go,” McAdoo said. “We’ve kind of dug ourselves in a hole. We’re not going to forget that. But probably the biggest thing is realizing when we play with a sense of urgency and play with heart, the outcome is definitely going to be more favorable.”

sports@dailytarheel.com