NEW YORK (AP) – Luke Maye scored 17 points, including North Carolina’s last field goal with 5:33 remaining, and No. 12 North Carolina held off a late rally by No. 5 Duke to advance to the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game with a 74-69 victory on Friday night.
The sixth-seeded Tar Heels (25-9) will face top-seeded and top-ranked Virginia on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in a rematch of the 2016 ACC championship, won by North Carolina.
North Carolina led by 16 when Maye hit a jumper with 5:33 left and it looked as if it would cruise into the title game. But the Tar Heels went cold and second-seeded Duke went on a 13-0 run, drawing within three on Gray Trent Jr.’s 3 with 50 seconds left.
North Carolina guard Joel Berry II (2) reacts during the first half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tournament Friday, March 9, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
The Tar Heels turned the ball over on consecutive possessions, but an offensive foul by Grayson Allen and then a missed 3 by Allen, trying to draw contact on Maye, stymied Duke (26-7).
Theo Pinson made two free throws with 3.2 seconds left to seal it and the Tar Heels snapped a six-game losing streak in the ACC Tournament to their most heated Tobacco Road rivals – and they even the series in Brooklyn at 1 each. Duke beat the Tar Heels in Barclays last season.
Pinson had seven of North Carolina’s 24 assists on 28 field goals as the Tar Heels cut up Duke’s zone most of the night. Joel Berry II had 13 points and six assists and Kenny Williams had 10 and six. Maye rebounded from a 1-for-15 shooting performance in the quarterfinals against Miami to shoot 8 of 18 with 10 rebounds and four assists.
Marvin Bagley III followed up his 33-point, 17-rebound game against Notre Dame on Thursday with 19 points and 13 rebounds for Duke. Fellow freshmen Trent added 20 points and Wendell Carter Jr. had 14 points and nine rebounds.
CHECK?
Allen received a Flagrant 1 foul for hip-checking North Carolina’s Garrison Brooks as the Tar Heels forward was running up court late in the first half.
Brooks went down hard and stayed down in the backcourt as North Carolina scored. Officials stopped play and went to the courtside monitor to check a replay. Allen clearly stuck his backside out enough to bump the unsuspecting Brooks while 6-foot-9 freshman was in the middle of a stride. Brooks was OK and made two free throws with 52.7 second left.
Allen, a senior, was reprimanded by the ACC for tripping two opponents in his sophomore season. He was stripped of his captaincy by Duke for another trip as a junior.
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: A night after Duke earned its 100th ACC Tournament victory, the Tar Heels did the same and put themselves in position to earn a 19th conference championship. That would leave them one behind Duke for the most.
Duke: The Blue Devils had six turnovers on their first 14 possessions and just one field goal in the first 10 minutes of the game. North Carolina led by as much as 13 points, before Bagley got going and scored eight points in the last 10 minutes.
UP NEXT
North Carolina: The Tar Heels scored 49 points in a home loss to Virginia on Jan. 6
Duke: The Blue Devils will find out Sunday if it did enough to earn a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Duke guard Grayson Allen (3) drives against North Carolina guard Joel Berry II (2) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tournament semifinals Friday, March 9, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Duke forward Marvin Bagley III (35) looks for a shot against North Carolina guard Joel Berry II (2) and forward Luke Maye (32) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tournament semifinals Friday, March 9, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Duke guard Grayson Allen (3) drives around North Carolina forward Garrison Brooks during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tournament semifinals Friday, March 9, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Duke guard Grayson Allen (3) and North Carolina forward Sterling Manley (21) compete for a rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tournament semifinals Friday, March 9, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
Duke forward Wendell Carter Jr (34) dunks against North Carolina forward Brandon Huffman (42) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tournament semifinals Friday, March 9, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
North Carolina coach Roy Williams talks to players during a timeout in the first half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against Duke in the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tournament semifinals Friday, March 9, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
North Carolina guard Cameron Johnson (13) is fouled as he drives to the basket against Duke center Marques Bolden (20) and guard Grayson Allen (3) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Atlantic Coast Conference men’s tournament semifinals Friday, March 9, 2018, in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
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