CHAPEL HILL - On Saturday, North Carolina found itself 18.9 seconds away from a third-straight loss and a Quad 4 defeat at the hands of Boston College. The Eagles, who held an 89-87 advantage, just had one task: inbound the basketball.

As the Tar Heels were whistled for four fouls up to that point, Boston College needed three successful inbound attempts to reach the bonus and all but put the game out of reach.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, UNC freshman Drake Powell’s defensive assignment was to swarm the inbounder.

BC’s first inbound attempt, captained by guard Fred Payne, ended in a deflection by Powell, who matched the sophomore step for step. His efforts nearly resulted in a turnover, but instead whittled away .3 seconds from the clock as it touched down on the baseline.

Still leading by two, the Eagles made a change, sticking 6-foot-3 guard Chas Kelley as the inbounder.

Thanks in part to UNC’s successful off-ball defense and the activity of Powell on Kelley, the Tar Heels forced a five-second violation, which allowed for the eventual game-tying basket from junior Seth Trimble.

For Powell, guarding the inbounder was easy, and relied on one thing.

“[I was] reading his eyes,” he said after the win.

With 13.2 seconds remaining in regulation, Boston College still possessed the chance to hamper UNC’s tournament aspirations and hand it its second consecutive loss on its home floor.

Staring down a forced and rushed last second shot attempt, it called timeout, which gave it the opportunity to draw up a play, but also meant it still had one other task: inbound the basketball.

Unfortunately for the Eagles, UNC freshman Drake Powell’s defensive assignment once again was to swarm the inbounder, whgo was right in front of BC's bench with 4.4 seconds remaining.

A kickball violation from Powell, that came just prior to an all too familiar five-second violation, ruled the next inbound attempt null and void. Still with two fouls to give before sending the Eagles to the free throw line, the Tar Heels elected to foul on the ensuing possession and give BC a shorter window to work with.

It marked the Eagles’ first, and only, successful inbound attempt with Powell guarding the passer.

As Kelley III was on the verge of committing another five second infraction with 3.2 seconds remaining, he attempted a pass against Powell’s 6-foot-6 frame. The freshman forward created a deflection and loose ball that resulted in a turnover by the Eagles off the hands of Chad Venning.

“Drake is incredible. It is such a blessing to have a guy like Drake on your team first of all, but especially in those moments,” said Trimble. “There’s a reason we have him on the ball. There’s a reason he’s on the ball every single inbounds possession. He’s special in those moments.”

Powell’s defensive prowess resulted in two turnovers by Boston College and prevented a single shot attempt in the final 18.9 seconds by the ACC foe.

The decision to put the former five-star recruit on the ball was one fueled by his previous success, but also by inbounding issues North Carolina had been on the other side of in the past.

“We’ve been in situations where it’s been difficult for us to get the ball in with size and Drake has the athleticism and the length to be able to make it very difficult to get the ball in and he was great out of bounds underneath, side out of bounds. He was huge for us,” said head coach Hubert Davis.

Powell’s pressure highlighted the effort by the Tar Heels in the game’s final 18.9 seconds and beyond, but it was in part made possible by the four other players on the floor and the remaining 10 on the bench.

“It took everybody on the court and everybody on the bench. It was a group effort the way we persevered and were resilient towards the end,” said UNC’s second all-time leading scorer RJ Davis.

“We did not want to lose at all. We were desperate to win,” said Trimble. “We wanted to do all we could to make sure we got the stops. That’s really all it was, just an intention to dig in and be desperate for a win.”

Desperation for the Tar Heels resulted in the avoidance of a devastating defeat and helped Powell leave his mark.