COLLEGE PARK, Md. — With just more than eight and a half minutes to play at the Comcast Center on Saturday, North Carolina point guard Kendall Marshall fouled Maryland forward James Padgett, picking up his fourth of the game.
The No. 5 Tar Heels led by one. And even though Marshall — who already had 13 assists against the Terrapins —was in grave danger of fouling out, head coach Roy Williams knew exactly where his vocal leader needed to be.
“I just didn’t want to get the crowd back into it,” Williams said. “I thought Kendall could play intelligent enough and stay out of foul trouble.”
With 7:18 left in the half, Williams put Marshall back out on the court. And the risk paid off.
After trailing by as many as nine points in the second half, UNC (20-3, 7-1 ACC) showed composure down the stretch, and UNC beat Maryland 83-74.
Marshall registered nine points and a Comcast Center record 16 assists against the Terrapins (13-9, 3-5), tying his career-high assists mark and notching his 16th career double-digit dime performance.
Playing with four fouls forced Marshall to adjust his game in the closing minutes, but the guard was glad to still contribute in his typical selfless fashion.
“I have to pick and choose when to be aggressive,” Marshall said. “Obviously I still want to be aggressive when I’m rebounding the ball, trying to get my teammates involved, things like that.”
Marshall wasn’t the only one to experience foul trouble in Saturday’s scrappy game. After scoring 14 first-half points, senior forward Tyler Zeller picked up his fourth foul with just less than 12 minutes to go in the game while the Tar Heels trailed by two.
