CHARLOTTE — Of No. 3 North Carolina’s high-scoring triumvirate – first-year guard Coby White, senior forward Luke Maye, and graduate guard Cameron Johnson, who all average over 14 points per game – it was Johnson whose day against Louisville was perhaps the least worthy of comment.
Maye and White both posted a game-high 19 points, helping the No. 2 seed Tar Heels tread water against the No. 7 seed Cardinals and advance to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament with an 83-70 win.
But it was Johnson’s 14 first-half points that were most instrumental in UNC’s 45-35 lead at the break – an advantage that would prove to be, in a postseason game against a tough conference opponent, good enough to advance.
“(Johnson) kept us in the game a lot early,” head coach Roy Williams said. “And he gave us a little bit of a margin, but i thought it was good.”
In that initial 20 minutes, Johnson shot 6-8 from the field and sank both of his 3-point attempts, pacing the Tar Heels in the first half.
After the break, the UNC lead was an uneasy one, teetering from six to 13 points for more than 10 minutes in the second half. Still, the advantage built up in the first half held, and Johnson’s early flurry was the separator.
The fact that he didn’t score after halftime was, in a word, unusual; but that first half was, according to his teammates, typical Johnson.
“That’s Cam being Cam,” senior guard Kenny Williams said. “We like to joke that that’s what we pay him to do.”
The Louisville game was also the first after Johnson learned he had been named as an All-ACC First Team selection on Monday – a long way from averaging less than five points per game in his first full season with Pittsburgh in 2015-16.
