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All Hands On Deck

Justin Jackson rammed home this late dunk, but it was an all-inclusive performance by the Tar Heels on Sunday.
Justin Jackson rammed home this late dunk, but it was an all-inclusive performance by the Tar Heels on Sunday. (Bruce Young, THI)


GREENSBORO, NC – Sunday afternoon at the Greensboro Coliseum was one of those days where the status quo wasn’t going to cut it for North Carolina.

Justin Jackson and Joel Berry scorching in the back court and on the wing and Kennedy Meeks bruising in the paint just weren’t going to be enough. In part, because none of that really happened.

In order to defeat Notre Dame, the Tar Heels needed contributions from everyone Roy Williams called on, and that is what really happened in UNC’s 83-76 victory at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Six Tar Heels (21-4, 9-2 ACC) scored in double figures, but all ten that got on the floor did something that enabled the Heels to leave with a victory and in firm control of first place in the ACC.

“We didn’t rely on just Joel (and) Justin,” senior forward Isiah Hicks said. “It seemed like everybody was stepping up here, ready to play (and) being active.”

Jackson had scored 20 or more points in the previous four contests before Sunday, Berry had gone for 18 or more points five times in league play, and Meeks entered nearly averaging a double-double in conference play. But they weren’t their usual selves Sunday.

Jackson was 6-15 from the floor and finished with 16 points, Berry didn’t score until early in the second half and ended up with 12 points, and Meeks was plagued by foul trouble for much of the afternoon, thus his 11-point, 8-rebound performance in 16 minutes.

The trio wasn’t bad by any stretch, just a bit off. But that’s okay, because this was a team-wide win if there ever was one.

Hicks did his thing with 14 points and 7 rebounds. Kenny Williams found hit touch from the perimeter for the first time in a while, draining three 3-pointers and totaling 11 points with 3 assists. Tony Bradley was huge off the bench with 12 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

Luke Maye was effective with 6 points and 3 rebounds in 9 minutes, and veteran guard Nate Britt was again a reliable contributor, handing out 5 assists in 23 minutes.

“That speaks to the depth of our team,” Britt said. “If someone’s not having a good night we’ve got other guys that can step up and knock down shots and make plays.”

The Tar Heels hadn’t played up to par in their last two games, a 15-point loss last weekend at Miami and a 2-point win Tuesday over last-place Pittsburgh. But the Fighting Irish (17-7, 6-5) are a different animal and were a significant threat to the Heels.

Not only has Mike Brey’s team fared well against UNC since joining the ACC – it defeated the Heels in this building to capture the ACC title two years ago and competed with them in the Elite 8 last March – but they are the kind of team that can make life very difficult for the Heels.

Lots of perimeter shooting off swing passes and drive-and-kick outs, and they like to use a lot of space to make opposing bigs move defensively.

And while the Irish shot 44.6 percent from the floor, other than an 18-7 run in the second half, the Tar Heels did enough defensively to stunt their explosiveness. That required all hands on deck, as well.

And in the end, the team’s best players stepped up: A 15-footer by Berry to extend a 2-point lead to 7 7-73 with 3:33 left, and a breakaway dunk by Jackson on a feed from Britt, when I appeared Britt was close-lined by a Notre Dame player.

Big moments usually belong to big-time players, but without the others filling in the cracks, this victory may not have occurred.


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