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Death. Taxes. Clemson not winning in Chapel Hill. We can all rest easy tonight, for those three things are still absolutes we can rely on in life. Clemson started the second half of the game on an unreal tear of shooting the lights out that made the game closer than it felt for nearly the entire contest, but the Heels were just too much for them to handle.
A lot of the Heels’ success can be attributed to Cameron Johnson getting hot beyond the arc. He made six of his nine shots from distance on his way to a team-high 21 points. Joel Berry II also found success from three-point range by nailing four of his long range shots. The senior point guard played 36 minutes and scored 17 points.
It was a game of wacky stats with Clemson being unable to miss, literally, for a long stretch of the second half. The Tigers made 15 straight field goals to make the rocking crowd at the Dean Dome a little uneasy. Carolina, oddly enough, made just four buckets inside the arc in the second half. That’s right, just four.
For a moment it looked as though the Heels would have to carry on without the assistance of Luke Maye. Kenny Williams’ elbow caught a lot of Maye’s nose on a rebound attempt, and the junior fell to the ground with blood gushing out of his face. Maye required five stitches in his nose and was tested for a possible concussion before returning in the second half. It was a scary moment for a player who has been so instrumental to UNC’s success.
Carolina shot 51% for the game including 48% from three. That edged Clemson’s field goal percentage of 48%. Both teams were on fire after halftime with UNC shooting 65% and Clemson shooting 61%. The Heels turned the ball over 14 times and scored 13 points off Clemson’s 15 turnovers. UNC scored just 14 points in the half.
The offensive attack was fairly balanced for Carolina with five players making it into double figures. In addition to Johnson and Berry, Theo Pinson (12), Kenny Williams (15), and Maye (11) all finished the game with more than 10 points. Pinson led the way in rebounds with just seven.
Most importantly, the streak lives on another year.
Carolina is back in action on Saturday at the Dean Dome against Georgia Tech.