Barnes fights through pain in UNC's victory

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- Before his team's 83-74 victory Saturday against Maryland, North Carolina sophomore forward Harrison Barnes wasn't sure if he'd be able to play three minutes or 30 minutes, and he wasn't sure of how good he could be regardless.

All he knew, he said, is that he wouldn't let his sprained left ankle keep him on the bench. As it turned out, Barnes didn't stop playing even after he sprained it again.

"It was a lot of pain," Barnes said after he scored 12 of his 18 points during the second half. "It was like somebody shot me in the ankle. I think that's about how much pain there was. Because it was already hurt. Then you do the same thing again to it, it (was) a lot of pain."

He spoke on a padded table outside the Tar Heels' locker room, surrounded by reporters, going through postgame stretches with a trainer. He said he entered the game feeling about 60 percent healthy, but when asked if there was a chance he'd miss it, Barnes didn't hesitate with his answer.

"Thought never crossed my mind," he said. "I was always going to try to go out there and do as much as I could."

Barnes' effort personified the kind the Tar Heels gave against the Terrapins. Before Saturday, North Carolina had found itself in few of these kinds of games - ones in a hostile environment, with the score close and the final possessions precious.

The fifth-ranked Tar Heels (20-3, 7-1) trailed 40-37 at halftime and a loud crowd at the Comcast Center roared while the Terrapins (13-9, 3-5) extended the lead to 48-39 with 17 minutes, 24 seconds to play. About 30 seconds earlier, Barnes went to the bench after re-injuring that left ankle. He wasn't there for long.

"We were in the same situation we were in at Florida State," he said, referring to that 33-point loss in Tallahassee last month. "You know, down at halftime, come out, they have a little bit of momentum. And we were strong enough to fight through it."

At halftime, North Carolina coach Roy Williams questioned his team's toughness. He reminded his players there had been five loose balls during the first half, and Maryland had come up with every one.

"A lot of it," senior forward Tyler Zeller said, "was just picking up the intensity on our part."

After the Terps' initial surge to start the second half, Williams said his team played its best defense of the season. Maryland scored eight points in the first 2:36 of the second half, and just nine points during the next nine minutes.

During that span, North Carolina went on a 20-9 run that ended with Barnes' 3 with 9:19 to play. That shot put the Tar Heels ahead 59-57, and they never trailed again.

Barnes made just five of his 15 field-goal attempts. Still, Williams said, "He has a tremendous ability to make shots and a tremendous confidence that he's going to make them."

With about a minute to play, Barnes made a jump shot from the right side that put North Carolina ahead by six. In addition to those clutch shots from Barnes, North Carolina got 22 points in 22 minutes from Zeller, who played just eight minutes in the second half because of foul trouble.

John Henson added 17 and Kendall Marshall, the Tar Heels' sophomore point guard, finished with nine points and 16 assists, which tied his personal best for an ACC game. Marshall said he felt a sense of pride he hadn't yet experienced this season.

"This is probably the best I've felt after a game for our team," he said. "I felt like I had to go around and give all my teammates a hug, you know, 'good job' - just because I felt like we really came together to get that done."

Outside the locker room, a trainer already was tending to Barnes. He said his ankle never felt better Saturday than it did at the end of the game, after a victory he played a large role in securing.