UNC 83, Duke 87
A disappointing loss for sure. Despite coming back from 17 points in the second half to take a 5 point lead with six minutes to go, UNC wasn't able to hold off Redick in the end. JJ scored 35 points on the game including 5-10 behind the arc. We were able to hold the rest of Duke in check for most the game. Josh McRoberts had a good game scoring 17 points while Shelden Williams struggled shooting 3-9 from the field.
On our side, Reyshawn Terry led in scoring with 17 points despite playing only 24 minutes due to foul trouble (he eventually fouled out). Terry had 7 points in the first 7 minutes of the game. We got behind early, primarily due to making 7 turnovers in the first 8 minutes. Fortunately, Duke wasn't fairing much better and also had 8 turnovers at the same point. Duke built a small lead and managed to keep it for the entire first half. But we went into the half down only 5 points, 35-40.
I was hoping we'd start the second half like we've done for most of the season, but it wasn't to be. Duke came out firing and quickly built a 17 point lead. We made five turnovers in a row. As he's done a couple times this year, Coach Williams yanked all of the starters after the poor performance and put in the second team. Behind strong play from Quentin Thomas and Danny Green, we ate into the Duke lead. When the starters came back in, they looked recharged and continued to eat into the Duke lead.
After a great run, we were able to take a 5 point lead going into the last 5 minutes of the game. I thought we had a good chance, but Redick took over and secured the lead the rest of the way. Amazingly we had a chance to tie the game on the final play if we made a 3 pointer, but Danny Green lost concentration and took a two pointer as time ran out. Danny said in the post-game interview that he didn't expect to get the ball and froze when he got it. At least he was honest.
This was a tough loss at home, but if anything it showed that our young team can come back from a big deficit against one of the best teams in the country. We get Duke again at Cameron and considering how well we've been playing on the road, we have another good shot at beating them.
Other key stats:
+ Quentin Thomas: 5 assists, 0 turnovers
+ Rebounds: 45 (UNC), 26 (Duke)
- Turnovers: 21 (UNC), 16 (Duke)
- Duke 3pt FG: 10-20 (50%)
