Marcus Paige’s final free throws help give UNC men's basketball an ACC Championship

DURHAM — Inside the visitors’ locker room of Cameron Indoor Stadium, a simple phrase was written on the white board.

“1 = Champions”

That sentiment, that the No. 8 North Carolina men’s basketball team was in control of its destiny, has been on the team’s collective mind for the past few weeks. And it was on senior point guard Marcus Paige’s mind when, with nine seconds left and his team holding a two-point lead against Duke, he stepped to the free throw line.

He was in control. That’s how he wanted it.

“I was so happy I got to go to the line because I wanted the ball in my hands,” said Paige after UNC’s 76-72 win. “I really could miss a million shots in a row and I still feel like I’m going to make the next one.”

Throughout the game on Saturday night, Paige did miss. He missed seven of his 10 total shots from the floor and all but one of his eight 3-point tries.

“The jump shot comes and goes,” he said. “But once I got to the line I knew.”

He knew the game was over. He knew he was going to make his shots and come out of that too-small, too-dark-blue gym, for the first time, a winner. For the first time, an ACC Champion.

Four made free throws later, and that’s exactly what he was. Erase the “1” on the board. Paige and the North Carolina men’s basketball team were finally champions.

“When he hit that last free throw, it just felt great,” said teammate and roommate and fellow senior and friend, Brice Johnson, who dominated the Blue Devils for 18 points and 21 rebounds. “We’ve been through so much here the past four years and the stuff we weren’t even involved in before we got here.

“It just feels great to be able to get that negative media off of us and put some positive attention back on Carolina basketball.”

Despite the questions and the criticism and the heart-wrenching home loss to Duke just a few weeks ago, this Tar Heel team finished when it mattered.

Paige, who has struggled all season, can still make the shots when they matter most.

“If I had to pick anybody in the country to step to the line right in that situation, I wanted Marcus Paige over anybody else,” Coach Roy Williams said.

“And he was pretty doggone good.”

So was the rest of the team. Yes, the Tar Heels shot just 35.6 percent — well below its season average — but UNC outrebounded Duke 64-29, the biggest margin in a game since 2011. They held Duke to 37.3 percent shooting.

They scored 42 points in the paint to Duke’s 20. They made their final eight free throws in the last 26 seconds, despite the pressure and the ear-splitting “You can’t shoot” chants.

And in that visiting locker room, after reporters and players alike had started to trickle out, Johnson looked down at his phone and saw the images of fans rushing Franklin Street for just the second time since he’s been in Chapel Hill.

He walked over and showed Paige.

“I’ve got to go see my people,” Paige said, grinning.

@CarlosACollazo

sports@dailytarheel.com