For the 58th time in 58 tries, the No. 7 UNC men’s basketball team knocked off the Clemson Tigers in Chapel Hill—winning 80-69 on Wednesday night in a game that opened conference play for both teams.
”We didn’t talk about [the streak] much as a team,” UNC point guard Marcus Paige said after the game.
“But me and Brice [Johnson] and some of the older guys knew about it,” he added. “So we were telling the younger guys like, ‘Yo, it can’t be us. They’re like, 0-57—never won in Chapel Hill. We’re not coming back in this locker room being the only ones that have given up a game to Clemson here.’”
Theo Pinson had a career-high 13 points on 5-for-5 shooting–including a critical three-pointer. (Todd Melet)
Paige scored 18 points not only to keep the streak alive, but to help move the Tar Heels to 12-2 on the year and 1-0 in the ACC.
The Tigers played a tough, physical game, but fell to 7-6 overall, and 0-1 against conference foes, after coming up short yet again in Chapel Hill.
Despite getting just three points from Johnson—the team’s leading scorer this season—UNC head coach Roy Williams received an outstanding performance from a pair of super substitutes.
“Theo Pinson and Isaiah Hicks were huge for us coming off the bench,” Williams said.
“Didn’t get much out of Brice [Johnson] tonight, and he’s been off the charts [recently],” he continued. “I think he started reading his pub and thinking he was All-World—forgot the work part of it. But we got by with Brice having one of the worst games I’ve ever seen him [have.]”
Hicks had 14 points and Pinson had 13, as the two combined to shoot 10-for-11 from the floor—including Pinson’s three-for-three performance from long range, one of which came late in the second half with Clemson within just six points.
It was part of a game-deciding run where the Tar Heels scored on six straight possessions, distancing themselves using a small lineup consisting of Hicks and four perimeter players—a ploy Clemson head coach Brad Brownell was not expecting.
“You don’t see North Carolina downsize very much,” Brownell said. “And they downsized against us.
“When Theo Pinson makes three threes it’s tough,” the visiting coach added. “We gave him a couple in some situations and he knocked ‘em in. Those were big baskets.”
Brownell’s Tigers got 15 points from their leading scorer Jaron Blossomgame, but got into deep foul trouble with big men Landry Nnoko and Sidy Djitte each having to sit out extended minutes.
The Tar Heels also played much better defensively compared to recent outings, as they held Clemson to 39 percent shooting, and to just a 7-for-19 mark from behind the three-point line.
Another rare sight came on the game’s final basket, with Hicks finding Paige on the fast break for what became just the third dunk of the senior’s career. Excited afterwards, the 6-foot guard pulled himself up on the rim for emphasis.
Marcus Paige slams home just the third dunk of his college career. (Todd Melet)
“You know, guys that don’t get a lot of dunks don’t know how to act when they get a dunk,” Paige said. “It’s funny because Brice dunks more than anyone and sometimes it looks like he doesn’t know how to act, or like he’s never dunked the ball before.
“Now I know how it feels,” he continued, laughing.
Joel Berry had 16 points for UNC and Justin Jackson had 13 to join Paige, Hicks and Pinson in double figures on a night where five players combined to score all but six of the Tar Heels’ points.
Although Clemson may not be the ACC’s most talented team, Pinson says this game ought to put fear in the eyes of UNC’s upcoming opponents.
“It’s just a little momentum going into the ACC season, honestly,” Pinson said. “I think it scares a lot of people just seeing what we can do when Brice is struggling and with Kennedy [Meeks] not out [there] and stuff like that.
“So it was a big time [win for us].”
Up Next:
Conference play will continue to come at the Tar Heels quickly, as they’ll have a couple nights off before returning to the court at the Dean Dome on Saturday afternoon to take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-3).
Game Notes:
- Former UNC legend–and 1982 National Champion–Sam Perkins was in attendance, and spoke to the team in the locker room after the game. Matt Doherty, the team’s former head coach, was also at the game.
- This was the 26th time in 28 games that the Tar Heels have beaten the Tigers by 10 or more points in Chapel Hill.
- Paige has made a three-pointer in a school-record 38 consecutive games (last 30 games of last season and his first eight games in 2015-16). The previous record was 34 games by Shammond Williams, Rashad McCants and Hubert Davis.
- Pinson’s 13 points were a career-high.
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