But Morrison's and North Carolina's wounds continued to bleed as Florida State topped the Tar Heels 81-71 at Leon County Civic Center in front of 7,523 on Wednesday night.
Morrison collided with Trevor Harvey with less than a minute left when both dove after a loose ball at halfcourt. Morrison went to the free-throw line and hit both shots to pull UNC within four.
With 46 seconds remaining, Morrison made a layup, scoring UNC's last points of the night. Then the Tar Heels' old enemies, bad shot selection and turnovers, showed up, and North Carolina (5-9, 1-4 in the ACC), playing without Jason Capel, picked up its fourth straight loss.
"We're in a hole," said UNC coach Matt Doherty. "We're in a big hole, no question. But we're not going to quit."
Doherty's decision to employ a zone defense backfired when UNC played without the energy that kept the game close against Virginia on Saturday. With 8:50 left in the first, Florida State (9-6, 2-2) had a 28-10 lead.
"Given our track record, I would have played the zone too," said FSU coach Steve Robinson. "It just so happens that I really felt that we have become a better zone-attack team."
But by the half, UNC had pulled within nine of the Seminoles.
A Jawad Williams jumper tied the game at 45 five minutes into the second half, and Adam Boone gave the Tar Heels their only lead of the night on a 3-pointer with 10:11 left in the game.
Unfortunately for UNC, its lead lasted exactly 15 seconds. Michael Joiner sank two free throws to give the 'Noles a 51-50 lead after being fouled by Will Johnson.
