University of North Carolina Athletics
On This Day in Carolina History
June 21, 1999 | General
North Carolina and Miami of Ohio battled on even terms for almost 40 minutes before the Tar Heels escaped with a 77-75 victory at Oxford's Millett Hall.
Phil Ford's two free throws with just seven seconds remaining snapped a 75-75 tie and gave Carolina the victory.
This game featured sensational shooting by both teams. Carolina made 54.7 percent of its field goals attempts and 82.6 percent of its free throws. The Redskins were 55.2 percent from the floor and 78.6 percent from the foul line.
Mitch Kupchak was the big star, scoring 24 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Walter Davis added 20 points, hitting eight of his 10 field goal attempts. Ford scored 13 and Tommy LaGarde had 10.
However, Miami got 19 points from Archie Aldridge, 17 from Chuck Goodyear, 12 from John Shoemaker and 11 from Randy Ayers in an equally balanced attack.
Carolina had an early eight-point lead, only to see Miami erase that and go up seven. The Redskins led at the half, 37-33.
The Redskins had the biggest lead of the second half, 67-62, with 6:32 to play. But, a minute later Carolina had tied the game, 68-68, on a tip-in by Bruce Buckley, two Kupchak free throws and a Davis jumper.
Miami took three more two-point leads. But, Kupchak scored six straight Tar Heel points to tie the score on each occasion. It was a Kupchak foul shot with 1:20 left which gave UNC a 75-74 lead. An Aldrich free throw 13 seconds later made it 75-75.
Carolina then went to its four corners offense. Ford was fouled going to the basket with seven seconds left and dropped in both free throws for the final margin of victory. In addition to his 13 points, the All-America guard also added 10 assists and three steals in 39 minutes of action.
