North Carolina Knocks Off Notre Dame In South Bend

With a Notre Dame team  that is without Bonzie Colson and  Matt Farrell Notre Dame was neck and neck with the defending national champions as the game went down to the final seconds in regulation at Purcell Pavilion  Saturday.

Roy Williams wasn't concerned about style points after No. 20 North Carolina beat Notre Dame for its first Atlantic Coast Conference road victory of the season. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

"I feel the luckiest I've ever felt after the last minute of a basketball game," Williams said after the 69-68 victory Saturday night. "Joel Berry gets fouled and makes two free throws when you're down one. My frustration button is at a very high level right now."Berry II, saddled with three fouls in the first half, made two free throws with 7.1 seconds left for the winning points. But the Tar Heels (14-4, 3-2) allowed Notre Dame sophomore point guard T.J. Gibbs to dribble the length of the floor, get off a shot, rebound the miss and send the ball inside the cylinder before it, too, spun out at the buzzer. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

Berry finished with 15 points, and Luke Maye had his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Theo Pinson added 13 points, and North Carolina finished with a 9-2 run while holding the Irish (13-5, 3-2) without a field goal in the last 5:58. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

Gibbs, who scored both of those points for Notre Dame on free throws with 37 seconds remaining for a brief 68-67 lead, finished with a game-high 19 points and six assists for Notre Dame, which got 14 points from senior Martinas Geben and a career-high 12 points from sophomore reserve Nikola Djogo. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

"Man, I feel for our guys - we battled so hard," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "It's a tough one to swallow because you feel like you're going to get it."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

The Irish, playing without injured starters Bonzie Colson and Matt Farrell, used an eight-man rotation that frustrated Williams' Tar Heels, who shot just 42.6 percent (26 of 61) and were outrebounded, 45-37, by the Irish. Geben's nine included seven off the offensive boards. Notre Dame shot just 34.8 percent (23 of 66) from the field but stayed in it with timely 3-pointers (10 of 24) that included the first ever of the 6-foot-10 Geben's career. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

"I thought they played harder than us, they played smarter than us," Williams said. "Even on the last play, we did a good job defending the shot but we didn't box him (Gibbs) out. I told Michael (Brey) I was so proud of his team." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

The game was close right from the opening tip, with neither team able to pull away by more than six points. There were 24 lead changes and the game was tied 12 times. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

The Tar Heels led 40-37 at halftime during which Notre Dame endured a stretch of 6:54 without a field goal. Maye came up one rebound short of a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds, while Berry had nine points, all from beyond the arc before drawing his third personal in the final 2 minutes. Gibbs, who missed his first four shots, finally got on the board with 7:44 left and finished with nine points, one more than Geben."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

Geben scored four points, had two offensive boards and took a charge as Notre Dame started the second half on an 11-7 run for a 48-47 lead with 14:40 to play. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

After five straight points by Pinson gave the Tar Heels a 56-50 lead with 9:48 to play, Notre Dame called a timeout. A 10-4 spurt was highlighted by two 3-pointers by Gibbs after his backhanded missed field goal was hammered home by Rex Pflueger left the game tied at 60-60 with 6:53 left. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

Djogo then hit two quick 3-pointers to put the Irish up 66-60 with 5:58 remaining. They would be the last field goals Notre Dame would make. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx


BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: The Tar Heels, who lost games at Florida State and Virginia earlier this month, got their first ACC road victory and avoided three straight ACC road losses for the first time since 2014. North Carolina has had winning road records in 11 of its 14 seasons under coach Roy Williams, who got the 830th victory to tie Mount St. Mary's Jim Phelan on the career list. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

The milestone was the furthest thing on his mind. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

"The tape session tonight is going to be a lot of fun, that's all I can tell you," Williams said. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

Notre Dame: Matt Farrell, who has missed the last 2 1/2 games with a sprained ankle, dressed and led Notre Dame out of tunnel for pregame warmups but sat on the bench with fellow senior Bonzie Colson (broken left foot, eight weeks) as Brey used eight players, with five of them finishing in double digits in minutes in the first 20 minutes. Farrell is expected to practice Sunday and Monday and likely start Tuesday against visiting Louisville. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

"I don't mind praising another coach," Williams said about Brey. "What he has done is given them a plan and hope that they can still be successful. They've gone from behind an efficient offensive team to a rebounding and defending team." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

North Carolina and Notre Dame both return to the court Tuesday night. North Carolina returns to Chapel Hill to host 19th ranked Clemson while Notre Dame continues their home stand as Louisville visits South Bend. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-tar-heels-at-notre-dame.aspx

North Carolina will tip-off at 7:00pm from the Dean E. Smith Center. The game will be televised on the Regional Sports Network. "according to http://goheels.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball

Notre Dame meanwhile will also tip-off at 7:00pm from Purcell Pavilion. The game will be televised on ESPN2. "according to http://www.und.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/nd-m-baskbl-sched.html