University of North Carolina Athletics
#TarHeel25: No. 5
July 14, 2016 | Women's Lacrosse
Once again this July, GoHeels.com will count down the top 25 wins of the school year. Check back around noon EDT each weekday for the latest update before No. 1 is revealed on July 20. To catch up on previous entries, click here.
No. 5: No. 8 Carolina 76, No. 17 Duke 72 - Men's Basketball, March 5, 2016
Pretty much any Tar Heel would agree—this win certainly was satisfying.
Two weeks after a frustrating home loss to Duke in the Smith Center that was one of the low points of the season, Carolina bounced back in a big way on Senior Night in Durham with a 76-72 win.
"Needless to say it feels a heck of a lot better than it did a couple of weeks ago," Roy Williams said.
The Tar Heels never trailed in the game and dominated the lane, holding a 64-29 rebounding edge and a 42-20 scoring advantage in the paint. The victory locked up the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship and the top seed in the ACC Tournament, an event UNC won a week later in Washington D.C.
"We dominated the paint like we needed to. And we didn't go away from it," senior Marcus Paige said after the game. "We kept going to the paint, kept going to the paint and we were able to hold off their runs. They made a couple of runs where they made a lot of 3s, but that's what Duke does. We were able to stay composed in a hostile environment and show what this team is really made of."
Brice Johnson's 18 points and 21 rebounds (nearly as many as Duke's team total of 29) capped a brilliant regular season by the senior forward who later earned first-team All-America honors. Frontcourt partner Kennedy Meeks, the target of some fan and media criticism during an up-and-down campaign, had one of his finest performances of the year with 12 points and 14 rebounds. Paige hit four free throws in the closing 10 seconds (including two with 1.5 seconds remaining to seal the win) and Joel Berry II had seven of his 12 points in the final five minutes of action.
The Tar Heels led by double digits twice and had a 30-10 rebounding edge in the first half, only to miss their first 11 shots after halftime and give the Blue Devils an opportunity to rally. Carolina shot under 30 percent from the floor in the second half but won the day with rebounding and resilience.
"I knew one team that could come in here on senior night, play great and win, and that was us," Williams said. "The backboards and the inside area was huge for us."
Carolina won the ACC regular season title for the seventh time in 13 years under Williams, including six outright. UNC's 30 regular season championships are most in ACC history. The Tar Heels finished 6-3 on the road in ACC play. Their 64 rebounds were a season high and its plus-35 rebounding edge was its biggest in over five years.
The victory was a springboard for a tremendous month of March for Carolina, which went on to win the ACC Tournament, advance to a record 19th NCAA Final Four and reach the national title game.
No. 6: No. 11 Carolina 45, North Carolina State 34 - Football, Nov. 29, 2015
No. 7: Carolina 15, Syracuse 14 (OT) - Women's Lacrosse, May 1, 2016
No. 8: Carolina 2, Syracuse 1 (OT) - Field Hockey, Nov. 8, 2015
No. 9: No. 1 Carolina 4, No. 3 Virginia 3 - Men's Tennis, April 1, 2016
No. 10: Carolina 4, Miami 2 (ACC Championship) - Women's Tennis, April 24, 2016
No. 11: Carolina 2, Duke 0 (NCAA Semifinals) - Field Hockey, Nov. 20, 2015
No. 12: Carolina 13, Notre Dame 9 (NCAA Quarterfinals) - Men's Lacrosse, May 22, 2016
No. 13: Carolina 83, Syracuse 66 (NCAA Semifinals) - Men's Basketball, April 2, 2016
No. 14: Carolina 12, Penn State 11 (NCAA Semifinals) - Women's Lacrosse, May 27, 2016
No. 15: Carolina 6, Longwood 4 (NCAA Harrisonburg Regional) - Softball, May 20, 2016
No. 16: Carolina 3, No. 3 Stanford 0 - Volleyball, Sept. 10, 2015
No. 17: No. 13 Carolina 15, No. 2 South Carolina 0 - Baseball, April 13, 2016
No. 18: No. 2 Carolina 4, No. 16 Georgia Tech 3 - Women's Tennis, April 17, 2016
No. 19: No. 9 Carolina 2, No. 15 Notre Dame 1 - Women's Soccer, Oct. 22, 2015
No. 20: No. 3 Carolina 4, No. 2 Notre Dame 2 - Men's Soccer, Sept. 18, 2015
No. 21: Selmon, Ward Earn All-America Honors - Wrestling, March 18, 2016; Track and Field, June 10, 2016
No. 22: Carolina 2, No. 10 Georgia 1 (8 innings) - Softball, April 6, 2016
No. 23: Carolina 77, Syracuse 73 - Women's Basketball, Jan. 7, 2016
No. 24: Carolina Qualifies For The NCAA Championships - Women's Golf, May 7, 2016
No. 25: Tar Heels Sweep Hoosiers, Vols & Wildcats - Swimming and Diving, Oct. 30, 2015
