Tar Heels close out close game against Miami

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — There was a time when a North Carolina victory was as predictable as TV broadcasters mentioning Kennedy Meeks’ weight loss during a game. A time when UNC had won 11 of 12 games. When press conferences became so wonderfully monotonous that J.P. Tokoto brought along a stuffed bear as a companion.

That time ended in Louisville, Ky., four weeks ago. It was replaced by a new time — when the Tar Heels lost five of seven matchups, three of which were decided by 11 points or fewer, one of which marked the lowest score UNC has ever put up in the Smith Center.

Now, after a successful trip to Coral Gables, Fla., the Tar Heels are hoping it ushers in a new age: One of closing out close games.

With five minutes and 15 seconds left against Miami (18-11, 8-8 ACC) Saturday, the Tar Heels (20-9, 10-6 ACC) led by just three points. It’s a position similar to the ones UNC had been in against Louisville, Duke and N.C. State among others. A position, against those schools, that marked the last positive moment of the game.

Saturday was a different story. Saturday, No. 15 UNC closed out a game, defeating Miami 73-64.

“We’ve had a lot of close games recently and sometimes, a reason we didn’t quite get through is our offensive execution,” said junior guard Marcus Paige, who finished with 17 points. “Tonight, we made enough plays.”

A large part of those plays, in stature and statistics, was junior forward Brice Johnson.

Johnson, who had tallied just six points at halftime, ended with a career high 11 field goals on just 15 attempts. He had 22 points on the day, at one point scoring six in a row to give UNC a five-point lead with about 13 minutes left.

"I thought Brice was huge for us," Coach Roy Williams said. "Exactly the opposite of the way he was Tuesday night."

Against the Wolfpack Tuesday, Johnson had shot 1-for-6 and managed just four points. Did Williams see a tangible difference between the two games?

"I have no idea," Williams said. "If we figured that out, we would have changed him three years ago. But he was fantastic today and he was a non-factor in the game Tuesday. He didn’t play as poorly as I coached (against N.C. State)."

The other half of UNC's usually-deadly duo down low, sophomore forward Kennedy Meeks, was not as fortunate as Johnson, however. Meeks was 2-for-5 on the day with three turnovers. But, Williams noted, junior forward Joel James was there in his stead.

"Joel was big for us in the first half," he said. "Kennedy was stinking up the joint and Joel made some plays for us."

James put up six points in nine minutes in the first half, but only logged four minutes in the second period.

In the locker room after the win, Theo Pinson called out to James:

"'Joel, when are they going to fix the scouting report and say you can hit the turnaround jumper?"'

'"Let them keep not putting it down,"' James responded. '"I’m going to keep dropping it."'

For a while, there was a time when UNC kept dropping the close ones. Where they watched surefire wins slip through their fingers over and over.

Saturday was different.

"It feels good," Paige said. "We’ve had a lot of close battles that, one or two things happen and we lose. Feels good to be in a close game and actually come out on top."