Brice Johnson excels despite struggles in victory over Georgia Tech

Just minutes into the North Carolina men’s basketball team’s 86-78 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday, Brice Johnson's frustrations were running high.

With his team holding a two-point edge, the senior accidentally tipped a defensive rebound into his own basket to tie the game. Upset with his mistake, Johnson slammed his hands against the basketball as it fell through the net.

After a disappointing three-point performance against Clemson on Wednesday, Saturday's game looked to be heading that way again for Johnson.

“When I tipped (the ball) back in, I was like, ‘Well, it might be another one of those days,’” Johnson said.

Just a minute later, Johnson’s anger showed again — this time after a foul call. After hearing the whistle blow against him, the forward nearly hurled the ball against the Smith Center floor.

But Johnson knew, with a helpful reminder from his teammates, that it would get better as the game went on.

“We’ve learned over the years that it’s not how you start, its how you finish,” senior Joel James said, “No matter how bad you start at the beginning of the game.”

After a frustrating start, though, it didn’t take long for Johnson to finally make an impact play.

“I just refused to have another game like that,” he said.

After a missed 3-pointer by sophomore Theo Pinson, a put-back dunk by Johnson through contact triggered a fiery celebration. Pounding his chest and roaring after his emphatic dunk, Johnson did not hide his emotions.

“I’m an emotional player,” he said. “It’s just part of my game. It motivates me when I make a good play, but I need to do a better job controlling myself when something goes wrong.”

But Johnson would have to deal with more adversity than ease down the stretch.

After picking up four fouls — many of which Coach Roy Williams and Johnson disagreed with — Johnson was forced to the bench with less than seven minutes left and the score tied at 65.

In a hard-fought contest, which featured 10 ties and six lead changes, Johnson had to watch from the sideline and wait for his next opportunity.

“It was frustrating, but shoot that’s the game of basketball,” Williams said. “I don’t care how many mistakes the officials made, they didn’t make as many mistakes as we made."

Johnson returned to the floor, ready to put his mistakes behind him, with just over three minutes to play — his team clinging to a four-point lead.

Despite Johnson’s foul trouble, the forward made his presence felt immediately, providing a defensive spark, reliable rebounding and clutch free-throw shooting.

“Even if you have four fouls, you can’t let it affect your game,” Johnson said. “That’s been my problem in the last couple years, but you’ve got to tough it out.”

In years past, Johnson said he struggled with mentally taking himself out of games when he didn’t perform well. But the senior is too seasoned to let that happen this year.

Johnson said he has learned over time, sometimes the hard way, how to perform at a high level — even when things don’t go his way.

@_Brohammed

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