Throughout his career in Chapel Hill senior forward Brice Johnson has shown flashes of greatness, but struggled with inconsistency.

On Monday night in Tallahassee, Johnson finally showed what it looks like when everything is clicking—tallying 39 points and 23 rebounds to lead the No. 6 Tar Heels past the Florida State Seminoles 106-90.

Both numbers were career-highs for the senior from Orangeburg, South Carolina, who combined with his roommate, Marcus Paige, to propel UNC’s record to 14-2 and 3-0 in the ACC.

Johnson (right) and Justin Jackson (left) corral FSU freshman Dwayne Bacon at the rim. (AP Photo/ Mark Wallheiser)

Johnson (right) and Justin Jackson (left) corral FSU freshman Dwayne Bacon at the rim. (AP Photo/ Mark Wallheiser)

On any other night Paige’s 30 points—or the fact that the pair became the first set of Tar Heel teammates since 1998 to each score that many—would dominate the headlines.

But Johnson’s performance was arguably the best by a UNC player in the Roy Williams era, coming up just one point and one rebound shy of tying the single-game school records for each statistic since the head coach arrived in 2003.

“Brice Johnson was off the charts,” Williams said after the game. “I’ve been on his case for four years, but 39 points, 23 rebounds—that was a man’s night.”

Locked in an up-and-down game with the Seminoles—who now drop to 10-4 and 0-2 in conference play—Johnson scored 28 of his points in the second half.

Florida State sophomore guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes hit seven three-pointers on his way to 30 points, but only one of those came in the final 17 minutes—while Johnson wreaked havoc by finding ways to create easy buckets against a Seminole frontcourt possessing two players at least 7-foot-3.

“When [our guards] would get in the lane, the big guys would help up thinking [they] were gonna shoot a floater—then they’d just dump it off to me,” Johnson said.

“In the right place, at the right time,” he continued. “That’s the one thing I’ve learned being here is if the guard comes in the lane, just back up a little bit into the short corner.

“And then hopefully there’s a shot, or if something comes off the rim I get the rebound and the score.”

Only Joel Berry, with 12 points, joined Johnson and Paige in double figures as the Tar Heels broke the century mark for the first time all season—putting it into perspective how dominant the two seniors were against a talented, but young, Seminole team.

“To be a really good team, I’ve said this many times, we need to be able to win in the 50’s and 60’s,” Williams said about the scoring outburst. “But I like it a lot better when it’s in the 80’s and 90’s—or 100.

“I think those are more enjoyable games to watch,” he added. “There’s more plays, more causes for heart attacks for the coach I guess. But I like that tempo of the game.”

Roy Williams said Johnson's game was among the best he'd ever seen. (AP Photo/ Mark Wallheiser)

Roy Williams said Johnson’s game was among the best he’d ever seen. (AP Photo/ Mark Wallheiser)

In the seven-game winning streak since Kennedy Meeks went down with a knee injury, Johnson has averaged 21 points per game and become the team’s leading scorer.

However, he had arguably one of the worst games of his career less than a week ago against Clemson—putting up just three points while dealing with foul trouble throughout.

It’s that kind of unpredictability that has made him a constant lightning rod for criticism from Williams.

“This is about as good [a performance] as any I’ve ever seen—particularly on the road,” the coach said. “Especially for Brice, because I have to stay on his case–and Kennedy’s case–so much because their effort’s gotta be at a higher level and be more consistent.

“But it was there tonight,” he added.

Because of that relationship, one with a similar dynamic to how Johnson was treated by his father—also his high school coach—it’s not surprising to hear Williams’ explanation of how this career night came to life.

“The stars and the moon were aligned properly,” he said. “That’s probably what it was.”

Up Next:

Coming off its first true road win of the season, UNC will try again to complete the feat on Saturday, when they go the Carrier Dome to take on the Syracuse Orange–who will be welcoming back Hall-of-Fame coach Jim Boeheim from a nine-game suspension.

Game Notes:

  • Only Harrison Barnes and Tyler Hansbrough have scored more points in a game (each had 40) since Williams took over as head coach. Only Sean May (24) has had more rebounds in that time span.
  • Johnson shot 14-of-16 from the floor. His 14 field goals were also the most in the Williams era (May and Hansbrough each had 13 on two separate occasions).
  • Johnson and Paige became the first UNC teammates since Antawn Jamison and Shammond Williams to each score 30 in the same game.
  • Both the 39 points and 23 rebounds were all-time records at the Tucker Center, Florida State’s home arena.
  • Previously, Johnson’s career-bests were 27 points and 18 rebounds.

 

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