“Sometimes (players) have to go to the bench,” guard Marcus Paige said. “Or find other ways to light a fire under them.”
It backfired.
The Tar Heels missed six of their first seven shots and fell behind early. When the starters returned, the deficit grew.
“We just didn’t come out and play like we were supposed to,” Jackson said.
Neither team did. The Eagles were supposed to play like a team without a win in the calendar year. And despite its recent woes, UNC was supposed to play like a team anointed the preseason No. 1.
But behind the isolation magic of Boston College guard Eli Carter — who led all scorers with 26 points — the roles were reversed.
“They still kept on hitting shots, and we never got the lead,” Jackson said.
The one-point deficits dangled like low-hanging fruit. But for every punch, the Eagles countered. A stepback 3-pointer from Carter, a vicious dunk from 7-footer Dennis Clifford — Conte Forum was the birthplace of a miracle.
And then, Williams fell.
A spell of vertigo sent the North Carolina coach to the locker room, his team trailing by five and desperate for a spark.
But in his absence, a fire burned.
“When Coach went down, they just — human nature,” said assistant coach Steve Robinson, who took over for Williams for the final 14:35 of the second half. “You’ve got to rally."
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Before long, the tide shifted.
And when Paige sunk a 3-pointer through contact with 1:47 remaining, the mission was complete.
Their leader was missing — but the lead was theirs.
“Coach wouldn’t want it any other way,” Robinson said.
Williams would disagree. He wanted to coach the final minutes. He wanted to address his players as the buzzer sounded. And above all, he wanted to not be a distraction.
It wasn’t how it was supposed to happen — not for Williams, not for UNC and not even for Boston College.
But even the most chaotic of contests counts toward the win column.
@CJacksonCowart
sports@dailytarheel.com
