CHARLOTTE - Fouls happen in basketball, it’s a part of the game. And, in North Carolina’s 74-73 loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Friday night, sophomore forward Garrison Brooks’ foul trouble played a pivotal role in how the game turned out.

Brooks picked up his third and fourth fouls at the 7:21 and 7:17 marks in the second half, giving UNC Coach Roy Williams little choice but to pull Brooks from the game. He sat there for three-and-a-half minutes before re-entering the contest.

In that span, Duke’s Zion Williamson scored four consecutive points to give the Blue Devils a 67-65 lead with 6:04 remaining.

When the 6-foot-9 Brooks re-entered the game with 3:47 on the Spectrum Center clock, the Tar Heels outscored Duke 5-2 forging a 71-69 lead. Duke’s only two points during that stretch came when Williamson scored while drawing a foul with 2:32 left. The whistle was on Brooks, ending his night.

“It’s frustrating not to always be out there to help our guys,” Brooks said. “I always want to be out there to help our team win but the refs have got to blow the whistle, I can’t control that.”

After Williamson made his free throw to cut UNC’s lead to 71-70, he and Jordan Goldwire went on to score the Blue Devils’ last four points, both of which came in the paint. This gave Duke a 74-73 lead and, while the Tar Heels still had a chance to win it at the end, they couldn’t quite get over the hump.

Senior guard Kenny Williams, who finished with nine points, four rebounds and three assists in 39 minutes, said Brooks’ foul trouble affected how they wanted to play, particularly on the defensive end.

“We wanted G out there,” the Midlothian, VA, native said. “It’s tough, they called two fouls on him rebounding the ball. I didn’t see the play, I didn't see the replay, I don’t know how good of calls they were but that was pretty big (not) having G out.”

While fellow senior Luke Maye had a solid game down low, finishing with 14 points and 13 rebounds for his 14th double of the season, he also agreed that losing his teammate down the stretch played a pivotal role in the eventual outcome.

“He’s big for us, he’s a great defensive player, he really helps us out a lot,” Maye said. “But, in basketball, you have to adjust and make plays and we just didn’t do that.”

Brooks, who finished with two points and five rebounds in only 22 minutes, was assigned the unenviable task of defending massive Duke phenom Zion Williamson, which he did fairly well. Many of Williamson’s production came when Brooks was on the bench. Junior guard Brandon Robinson believes that’s where UNC was impacted the most by Brooks’ foul issues.

“I think it hurt us a lot,” he said. “Garrison definitely did a great job of defending Zion, he didn't make it easy for him. All these points he scored over Garrison, he had to work for them. I think that definitely hurt us but, other guys, we’ve just got to come in and step up and match that intensity.”

UNC’s bench didn’t have the same effect defensively on Duke that Brooks did and, as a result, his foul trouble was a major contributor to how the final few minutes of the game played out.