‘Everything clicked’ in second half

PHILADELPHIA — The players on the North Carolina bench stood on their feet, waving their arms and urging the sea of fans clad in Carolina Blue to stand with them as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

Less than a minute remained in the Tar Heels’ 88-74 win over Notre Dame in the Elite Eight, but the celebration was already underway.

When the final buzzer sounded, Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson, UNC’s senior leaders, embraced after four hard years of pursuing what now stood in front of them.

For the first time since 2009, the Tar Heels knew they were going to the Final Four.

“Four years,” Paige recalled telling Johnson as they hugged. “Four years. This is what makes it all worth it.”

But before the elation, the trophy presentation and the cutting of the nets, UNC was once again forced to use its defense to turn things around.

After entering halftime with a 43-38 advantage, North Carolina jumped out to a 51-40 lead.

That lead quickly turned into a one-point deficit. The Fighting Irish went on a 12-0 run over a three-minute period, taking a 52-51 lead with about 13 minutes left.

Paige answered with a jumper to regain the lead for the Tar Heels, but they still needed a spark — one Theo Pinson was ready to provide.

“We were going bucket for bucket, and we had to stop that really quickly,” Pinson said. “Bonzie (Colson) just held the ball out in front of me, and I swiped at it one time and got a piece (of it).”

The ball rolled away from both players, a swing of momentum potentially riding on who could corral it first. Pinson knew it had to be him.

“I was like, ‘I’ve got to get this ball.’”

And he did. The sophomore immediately called a timeout, giving UNC a chance to settle down and reclaim ownership of the game.

Shortly after the break, sophomore guard Joel Berry made a jumper, marking the first two points of a 10-0 North Carolina run.

“It just seemed like everything clicked at the right moment,” Berry said. “When we did that, it was hard for them to come back.”

The Fighting Irish never pulled within eight points for the rest of the game. And from that point on, the win almost seemed ensured.

The Tar Heels knew they were heading to Houston.

In the locker room, players and team managers posed for pictures with the East Regional trophy, and a net that previously decorated a rim of the Wells Fargo Center now fashioned around Paige’s neck.

For a group that entered the season with a trip to Houston as not a goal but seemingly an expectation, the joy filling the room was palpable.

This wasn’t because their job was done, a goal had been met or the pressure removed.

It was because, in this brief moment of ecstasy, happiness had been achieved.

“There’s no relief because we really didn’t have any pressure on ourselves,” said sophomore wing Justin Jackson. “We knew we could be a good team. We had dreams and goals, and that’s what we tried to pursue.

“Now that we’ve gotten to the Final Four, it’s just happiness right now.”

@patjames24

sports@dailytarheel.com