UNC Basketball: Tar Heels top Hurricanes in overtime thriller

North Carolina escapes with thrilling overtime victory against Miami

Coby White tied a career-high with 33 points, and North Carolina beat Miami 88-85 in overtime on Saturday afternoon.

In what will almost undoubtedly turn out to be the best game of the day in college basketball, the Tar Heels needed every bit of White’s 33 points to top the upset-minded Hurricanes. He hit 11-of-16 shots from the floor, including 7-of-10 from three-point range and 4-of-5 from the free throw line. And after turning the ball over three times in the game’s first five minutes, he finished with six assists and not a single second half turnover.

Luke Maye scored 20 points and pulled down six rebounds while playing a team-high 39 minutes. It was Maye’s third consecutive game scoring 20 or more points after doing so just once in his previous 10. Cameron Johnson scored 12 points, and freshman wing Nassir Little added 10 points off the North Carolina bench.

The Tar Heels shot 47 percent for the game, and hit 50 percent of their three-point attempts. They also converted 13-of-17 shots from the foul line, where they’re averaging better than 75 percent as a team on the season.

Miami was fueled by the stellar play of sophomore guard Chris Lykes, who scored a team-high 27 points and kept Miami in the game throughout the second half. It was Lykes’ play that gave — and extended — the Hurricanes’ lead several times late in the game. He cooled off toward the end of regulation and in overtime, though, which slowed the Miami offense, and opened the door for North Carolina.

The Tar Heels were outrebounded by the Hurricanes by seven, but committed six fewer turnovers for the game. They also got to the foul line 10 more times than the Hurricanes, and didn’t let Miami get into the 1-and-1 in the second half.

North Carolina improved to 19-4 on the season, and 9-1 in ACC play. No matter what happens in the Duke-Virginia game this evening, the Tar Heels will share first-place with one of the two teams when they welcome the Cavaliers to Chapel Hill on Monday night.

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