Rough start to second half frustrates Tar Heels in 86-64 defeat of William & Mary

Frustrated — the word of the night, and the common sentiment from North Carolina men's basketball players Tuesday after their shaky start to the second half in their last game before conference play.

Their dissatisfaction was obvious in the way coach Roy Williams blew up after an official reversed a charging call against opponent William & Mary. It was evident in the players’ remarks in the post-game interviews. And it was clear in the way the team let William & Mary outscore them 11-4 in the first four minutes of the second half.

The No. 19 North Carolina men’s basketball team (10-3) defeated William & Mary (6-6) 86-64 Tuesday night at the Smith Center. A formidable point margin, but the Tar Heels' shaky start to the second half led to a lot of nitpicking by players and coaches.

At the start of the second half, the Tribe gave UNC all that it could handle as the Tar Heels grew complacent in their large lead.

“I was frustrated at my team,” Williams said about his second-half eruption during which he took off his jacket and got a technical foul.

UNC played well in the first half, scoring 49 points and shooting 66 percent from the field. But in the second half, the Tar Heels scored just 37 points — the same amount of points as the Tribe — and their field goal shooting percentage dropped to 51 percent by the end of the game.

“I didn’t expect this game to go the way it did,” junior forward Brice Johnson said. “We’re a good team, we’ve got to just go out there and play harder, play like Coach wants us to play.”

Junior forward J.P. Tokoto led the team with 19 points, 10 rebounds and several highlight reel-worthy dunks.

“That’s the J.P. we need to show up,” junior point guard Marcus Paige said.

Paige clipped on another 14 and dished out a team-high six assists. Nate Britt was the only other Tar Heel to record double digits, scoring 11 points and shooting 50 percent from the 3-point range.

“Coach was most definitely upset by the way that we were playing,” Britt said. “There was a lot of little things we did wrong.”

Throughout the game, those things included turnovers and missed assignments on defense.

As ACC conference play starts Saturday at Clemson, Britt and his teammates realize they can’t afford to make these mistakes.

It was Williams’ outburst that woke the team and the crowd up again in the second half, something Paige — unsurprisingly — said was frustrating.

“It’s a little frustrating to have to have something that crazy happen to have the crowd to get into it as they did,” he said, followed by a comment on how Williams also got the team fired up. “That’s equally as frustrating. We shouldn’t have to have something like that get us going.”

UNC did a lot of good things in the first half. But the team lost focus, and that hurt. The Tar Heels pulled it together for a solid 22-point victory over the Tribe, but playing like how they did would put them in a precarious position in ACC play — and they might not have been able to work their way out of it.

Paige said in an ACC game, that nine-point lead UNC allowed William & Mary, would turn into a one or two possession game, leading to an up-in-the-air game the Tar Heels might not be able to squirm their way out of.

Consistency is lacking, Paige said, and it's crucial as the team opens ACC play.

“At times we say, 'Wow this team is really tough, almost it’s impossible to score on,'" Paige said. "And then at other times you’re like, ‘How did they give up a backdoor layup without anyone challenging the shot?’” 

The Tar Heels did not execute consistently Tuesday, but they ended on a high note, which they hope will carry over into 2015.

“It was a disappointing start to the second half,” Paige said. “And it was a great close to the second half.”