For the second time in as many tries this season, the No. 3 UNC men’s basketball team was stunned on the road—falling 84-82 to the Texas Longhorns thanks to a mid-range jump shot by guard Javan Felix that went through the net as time expired.

With the game tied at 82 after Marcus Paige found Brice Johnson underneath the basket for an easy lay-up, Texas ran down the floor and saw a wild three-point attempt by Isaiah Taylor produce a long rebound—which went straight to Felix, who nailed the shot with no defender near him to lift his team’s record to 6-3.

After the game, UNC head coach Roy Williams let it be known that he was not pleased with the effort he received on the glass.

Marcus Paige (5) scored 20 points to lead UNC, but it was not enough to get past Javan Felix (3) and the Longhorns. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)

Marcus Paige (5) scored 20 points to lead UNC, but it was not enough to get past Javan Felix (3) and the Longhorns. (AP Photo/Michael Thomas)

“You know, long shots, long rebounds,” Williams said. “The last one– and I’m not trying to say anything about it—but it missed badly. And so it bounces out long.

“Still, we should have had somebody there,” he continued. “Five guys boxing out five guys on the other team. That’s the bottom line. Five guys supposed to box out five guys.”

Paige led the Tar Heels—who are now 7-2—with 20 points on the night, including a nifty scoop shot that tied the game at 80 with less than a minute to play. UNC also led nearly the entire game, but ultimately could not hang on down the stretch, which was a key theme all of last season.

The Longhorns got 25 points from Felix and 18 from Taylor as they connected on seemingly everything they took from deep—making 12 of their 24 threes as a team.

It wasn’t always pretty, but it was effective, leading Coach Williams to make an interesting comparison about Felix.

“He’s got the old man YMCA game,” Williams said of the Longhorns’ senior. “And that’s not intended to be a cut towards him. He knows I have a great deal of respect for his game.

“He made some big shots. Five-for-seven from three and gets an offensive rebound and makes the shot that wins the game.

“I’d like to have some old man YMCA players that play like that down the frickin’ line,” he added.

Joel Berry drives against Texas. He finished with 8 points. (AP Photo/ Michael Thomas)

Joel Berry drives against Texas. He finished with 8 points. (AP Photo/ Michael Thomas)

It was a marquee win for Texas’ new head coach Shaka Smart, who saw his team force Johnson into major foul trouble in the first half.

As a result, junior Isaiah Hicks stepped up off the bench for the Tar Heels and contributed 14 points—the same amount as Johnson. Justin Jackson added 15 as the only other Tar Heel to reach double figures.

But in the rebounding department, Texas had a 36-27 edge—including, of course, the one that led to the game-winner.

“We’ve been rebounding the ball pretty well, but today Texas wanted the basketball a whole lot more than we did,” Williams said. “[They] physically imposed themselves and their will on us, I guess.”

After being labeled as potential favorites for the National Championship in the preseason, UNC has now lost twice to unranked opponents on the road.

Early season losses have typically plagued Williams-coached teams in the past, but it’s clear that from here on out this year’s team will have to get by on more than just reputation.

“The kids, we’ve got a bunch of ‘em that played last year,” Williams said. “But that’s so far in the past history I could care less. What we gotta do is we gotta play today.

“Shoot, you gotta play anywhere. Whether it’s a dadgum barn, or it’s my place or your place—[we] gotta frickin’ play, and [we] gotta do the little things to help [us] win.”

Up Next:

UNC will return to the safe haven of home for its next game on December 16th, as the team hosts the Tulane Green Wave.

Game Notes:

  • Marcus Paige, with a three-pointer from the left wing in the second half, became the all-time leading three-point shooter in Carolina history–passing Shammond Williams’ previous record of 233.
  • Texas was the first team to defeat the Tar Heels in the rebounding category this year. The Longhorns also held UNC to just four offensive rebounds. The team’s previous low in that statistic this season was nine in the loss to Northern Iowa.
  • UNC also committed just six turnovers–a season low.

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