Monday night at the Dean Smith Center, despite a 75-70 win by the No. 8 Tar Heels over the Syracuse Orange, tears filled the arena—as fans said their goodbyes to a group of young men head coach Roy Williams dubbed his favorite team of all time.
“I don’t know if I can tell you much about the game,” an emotional Williams said afterwards. “I don’t know if I’ve ever felt as much stress over a regular season game as I did tonight.
“As soon as I got on the plane coming back from Virginia, I started feeling that,” the coach continued. “Because I just wanted Brice [Johnson], and Marcus [Paige], and Joel [James] so much to win their last home game.
“That was maybe more important to me than any other game I’ve been involved with.”
Brice Johnson and Roy Williams embrace one another before the game. (Todd Melet)
Keeping with tradition, Williams started five seniors—adding walk-ons Spenser Dalton and Justin Coleman into the group that included Paige, Johnson, and James.
The Tar Heels then improved to 24-6 and 13-4 in the ACC by relying on the team on a night celebrating the team .
Five players—led by Johnson’s 14 points—scored in double figures, and 10 different Tar Heels put points on the board throughout the game—dropping the Orange to 19-11 this year and 9-8 in the ACC.
Paige saw significantly more time at point guard than he has in previous games, racking up eight assists even though he made just two of his 10 shots–scoring only six points.
But none of those statistics mattered on this night.
All Paige and the Tar Heels wanted was a win.
“It was a special feeling I’ll never forget,” Paige said about the night’s festivities. “People have asked me during the tough times of our program, ‘Would you re-do it, would you go somewhere else?’ And I was like ‘Nah, there’s no chance.’
“This has made me such a better person,” he continued. “I’m so thankful for this.
“It’s been my dream.”
Early on the Tar Heels struggled dealing with Syracuse’s 2-3 zone, forcing up 17 three-pointers in the first half instead of going inside to the big men with regularity—their undisputed strength.
After leading by just four at halftime, Williams swapped Isaiah Hicks in for Kennedy Meeks at the post spot next to Johnson.
The results were obvious, as UNC extended its lead to 13 in the first five minutes of the second half—leading the rest of the way despite a late Syracuse push.
Although there were some butterflies in his stomach at the beginning of the night, Johnson said they quickly faded.
“They kinda just went away after a while,” Johnson said of the flying critters lodged in his abdomen. “After we had our [framed jerseys presented] I just refocused and was like, ‘Alright we still got a game to win here.’
“It’s fun and all, but I said it after the last game—I was like ‘Hey I understand it’s senior night, but at the end of the day we’re still trying to win,” he added. “And we’re trying to reach our goals.”
Isaiah Hicks was a difference maker against the Syracuse zone, scoring 10 points and grabbing six rebounds off the bench. (Todd Melet)
While the main goal on Monday was to beat Syracuse, the win also gives the Tar Heels a chance to lock up the top seed in the ACC Tournament, provided they beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium this Saturday—a task easier said than done.
From there, this group of seniors—the group that has served as the faces of the university throughout the NCAA academic scandal–will look to accomplish the one thing they have yet to do, put up a banner in the Dean Dome.
“I’ve been fortunate, guys,” Williams said to reporters. “I’ve led a great career professionally. But I want those kids to have some of those feelings. I really do.
“It’s not, ‘Oh Roy, he’s being so gracious.’ That’s a bunch of junk, I’m just being truthful.
“I’ve got some championship rings, some conference rings, and all that stuff,” the coach added, before pausing and choking up a little.
“I would give so much if those kids could get something like that.”
Up Next:
The Tar Heels will get used to life away from Chapel Hill now, as they prepare to make the short trip over to Durham on Saturday. Then the ACC Tournament in Washington D.C. will await.
Game Notes:
- Paige also had eight assists in UNC’s win at Syracuse on Jan. 9. He combined for 16 assists and just three field goals in the two wins this year over the Orange.
- Johnson recorded his ACC-leading 18th double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He made one of the game’s biggest plays when he rebounded a missed three-point field goal and scored with 1:09 to play to give Carolina a 73-68 lead.
- Carolina clinched a double-bye in the 2016 ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels are assured of being no lower than the #4 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament.
- The Tar Heels finished their home schedule 15-1. This is the sixth time in the last 12 years the Tar Heels have won at least 15 games in the Smith Center.
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