UNC junior forward J.P. Tokoto knocked down a silky smooth three-pointer to open proceedings Thursday evening inside the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Carolina. The waters got rocky.
The fourth-seeded North Carolina men’s basketball team built a hefty 16-point lead in the second half and from there, held on for dear life down the stretch to scrape past a pesky Harvard team, 67-65. With the victory, the Tar Heels survived to fight another day in the NCAA Tournament and improved to 25-11 on the season.
***Listen to the story***
Roy Williams was in full voice Thursday night (Todd Melet)
With the loss, the Crimson finish with a 22-8 overall record and 11-3 mark in Ivy League play.
17 turnovers almost sent the Tar Heels to the exit doors early, but thanks to freshman forward Justin Jackson, Carolina found the escape hatch in the nick of time.
Jackson, who finished with a team-leading 14 points, saved the day for UNC, finishing with a flourish. Jackson scored the game’s final four points to avoid the upset bug on a day that was already full of them.
“I feel like I won the lottery. Tommy Amaker did a much better job with his team than I did with mine,” UNC head coach Roy Williams says.
***Listen to Roy Williams’ postgame remarks***
Carolina’s length and athleticism troubled Harvard for the majority of the contest and allowed UNC to amass a 36-26 rebounding advantage and an edge in points in the paint. But Harvard capitalized on those 17 Carolina turnovers to the tune of 29 points to get to the doorstep of victory.
“You can’t say enough about the effort our kids put forth. We battled to get back in it. I thought we played with great poise. Wesley Saunders […] carried us to put us into position to have a chance. I’m very proud of our team,” Harvard head coach Tommy Amaker says.
Harvard senior guard Wesley Saunders did all he could for his team, totaling a game-high 26 points on 8-14 shooting. Routinely, Saunders left the Tar Heels in the dust on his way to the basket – beating them off the dribble.
“He was a load. We knew that. Last year, he was player of the year in their league. We tried to focus on him with our team. J.P. [Tokoto] really did a pretty doggone job, but he was really hard to guard,” Coach Williams says.
And yes, there was only one reason Harvard was hanging around in the early going…that was Saunders, who scored his team’s first ten points. Meanwhile, Carolina was getting contributions from a cast of characters ranging from big man Joel James to streaky sophomore Isaiah Hicks to points leader Marcus Paige.
J.P. Tokoto tallied 7 points and grabbed 7 rebounds (Todd Melet)
An 11-0 UNC run spearheaded by a suffocating defense set the tenor of the contest. When Kennedy Meeks is beating opponents down the floor for a quick score, it’s not a good sign for the opposing team. That happened Thursday night.
However, some sloppy turnovers and an over four-minute scoring drought from Carolina in the waning moments of the first half kept Harvard alive, but by halftime, the Tar Heels had stretched out their scoreboard lead to a 36-25 margin thanks to 56-percent shooting from the floor.
The second half opened with a Justin Jackson three-point snipe that got the Heels off and running again, building up what seemed like a commanding 16-point lead. Carolina was having its way on the glass using every last mismatch inside to its advantage.
Justin Jackson saved the day for Carolina (Todd Melet)
But there was no quit in the Crimson. Things got mighty interesting. Harvard took the lead at 65-63 on a three-pointer and a foul from who else but Saunders with under two minutes to play. Scrappy, opportunistic offense coupled with a methodical tempo powered the determined Crimson attack.
Meanwhile, Carolina couldn’t do much right in the closing stretch with turnover after turnover leading to a lot of concerned looks on the Tar Heels’ faces.
But in the end, the rally fell short. The Heels somehow remained cool under pressure in the crucible of the inspired late-game surge by their opponents. When Saunders’ final three-point shot – an open look – missed its mark, Roy Williams and the rest of Tar Heel Nation could breathe a huge sigh of relief.
“I’m thrilled we’re still here and still playing. These two guys – Marcus [Paige] made two big shots and Justin [Jackson] made two big shots. If we had played a little bit better, it may not have required that, but you have to give Harvard credit. It’s driving me wacko, but having said that, we’re still here playing,” Coach Williams says.
Despite the scare, Coach Williams kept his unblemished record intact. The Hall of Famer is now 25-0 in Round of 64 NCAA Tournament games as a head coach.
Next up for the Heels comes a Saturday Round of 32 meeting with fifth-seeded Arkansas, who downed No. 12 Wofford, 56-53.
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