Irish Fight But Fall To UNC 69-68
The Irish suffered a heart-breaking 69-68 loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels at Pauley Pavilion on Saturday night as T.J. Gibbs missed a potential winning shot at the buzzer. Joel Berry hit two free throws with under ten seconds left for the final margin.
The Irish fell to 13-5 with the loss, and 3-2 in ACC play while the Tar Heels improved to 3-2 in ACC play and 14-4 overall. The Irish shot 35 percent for the game and were led by Gibbs’ game-high 19 points. The Tar Heels shot 42 percent and were led by Luke May who had 18 points.
A Rex Pflueger putback got the Irish within two as the crowd began to come alive once again. Back to back threes by D.J. Harvey and Gibbs tied the game at 60 with 6:53 to play in the game. Another three by Nikola Djogo gave the Irish the lead as shots started to fall for the Irish as they made six of eight shots in a few minute span.
The Irish led 66-64 with under four minutes to play and the crowd restless. The Irish started to go cold again as the game wound down, going four minutes without any points. The game became very sloppy again late with missed shots and a few fouls. Two Gibbs free throws gave the Irish a 68-67 lead with about 30 seconds to play.
The Irish grabbed 20 offensive rebounds which kept them in the game all night.
A layup by Harvey gave the Irish their first lead of the second half as both teams looked ready to go out of halftime. A putback by Martinas Geben gave him 14 for the game, and he took a charge on the next possession as his strong game continued. The Irish led 48-47 with 14:40 remaining in the game.
Both teams started to go cold again with the Irish still clinging to a small lead. A Theo Pinson driving layup gave the Tar Heels a one-point lead, which the Irish countered with a layup by John Mooney after a nice pass from Pflueger. Pinson hit again, this time from three-point land to give the Tar Heels a 54-50 lead about midway through the second half.
There were a total of 24 lead changes in the game, and the game was especially close late.
Both teams began the game rather sloppy as May finally hit a jump shot about two minutes into the game to give the Tar Heels the lead. A pair of threes by Mooney and Geben gave the Irish their first lead at 6-5. A Berry three gave the Tar Heels the lead back as both teams started to find a rhythm offensively.
The Irish couldn’t maintain the rhythm as they went over four minutes without a made field goal, but the score remained close at 14-11 Tar Heels with under 12 minutes left in the half. The scoring drought was finally snapped by two free throws by Geben. Despite the issues scoring, the Irish still stayed in the game thanks to the solid interior defense.
The Tar Heels led 16-13 at the midway point of the half as they were only shooting 40 percent from the field. The Irish field goal drought was finally snapped on a tough shot by Elijah Burns. The Irish retook the lead after a driving layup by Gibbs at 17-16 with seven minutes to go in the half.
The Irish started to find their shooting stroke after a jumper by Gibbs and a three by Pflueger which tied the game at 23. The Irish took the lead again after a three-pointer by Gibbs which got the crowd into the game. The Irish shooting percentage began to climb which came at a good time with the Tar Heels getting hot from the field. Back to back threes from Berry gave them a four-point lead at 37-33 with just 90 seconds to play before the half.
The Tar Heels took a 40-37 lead into the locker room, shooting 40 percent from the field. Maye led the scoring for the Tar Heels with 13 points at the half, while Martinas Geben was the leading scorer for the Irish with eight points. The Irish shot 35 percent from the field in the half.
Player of the Game: Geben. The senior didn’t have the best numbers, but he was instrumental in keeping the Irish in the game. He finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Unsung Hero: Djogo. The redshirt freshman had 12 points on the night, including three three-pointers and gave Coach Brey some significant minutes with injuries still an issue.
