Not again! UNC basketball loses on another game-winning shot - this time to Notre Dame.
For the second time in two weeks, North Carolina led an opponent by double-digits late in the second half.
For the second time in two weeks, its opponent — this time Notre Dame — cut the lead to at least two points. And for the third time in two weeks, UNC lost on a game-winning shot.
Notre Dame’s Nate Laszewski hit a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to give the Fighting Irish a 77-76 win over the Tar Heels Monday and capped a 15-point second half comeback.
“They were tougher, they made plays down the stretch,” UNC coach Roy Williams said after the game. “I think you really just have to congratulate those guys on making those plays. Making those 3’s.”
The Tar Heels (10-16, 3-12 ACC), who have lost six straight, led by as many as 14 points with about 10 minutes left. But the Fighting Irish battled back and cut UNC’s lead to 3 with three minutes left.
Notre Dame (16-10, 7-8) twice cut it to two points and finally took the lead on Laszewski’s shot.
Freshman guard Cole Anthony led the Tar Heels with 23 points and 6 assists.
Junior forward Garrison Brooks finished with 22. Senior guard Brandon Robinson, who returned after missing the last four games with an ankle sprain, scored 11 points.
Sophomore guard Prentiss Hubb scored 20 to lead Notre Dame.
The Tar Heels losing streak dates back to Feb. 1, when UNC fell to Boston College on game-winning free throws. Three of the Tar Heels losses during that stretch came on game-winning shots or game-winning free throws.
With the Notre Dame loss, make that four.
Both teams got off to fast starts. The Tar Heels made 5 of their first 11 shot attempts and led the Fighting Irish 13-8 after the first five minutes.
Notre Dame answered with a 14-2 run over the next six minutes. During that stretch, the Tar Heels missed eight consecutive shots and the Fighting Irish took a 22-15 lead with 8:45 left in the first half. They extended that lead to 29-20 three minutes later.
The Tar Heels cut the Irish lead to 3 at halftime and ended the first half on a 9-3 run. That momentum seemed to carry over into the second half.
After Notre Dame’s John Mooney hit the first shot of the second half, the Tar Heels went on a 13-0 run to take an 8-point lead with 14:53 left.
The Tar Heels led 60-46 with 10 minutes left and were dominating. But just as Duke did on Feb. 8, and Clemson on Jan. 11, Notre Dame started to come back. The Fighting Irish cut the lead to 2 points with 1:54 left.
Anthony’s 3-pointer 15 seconds later extended UNC’s lead to 76-71. But Notre Dame kept coming.
On UNC’s second to last offensive possession, Anthony missed a 3-pointer with 18 seconds left that would have given the Tar Heels a 5-point lead and likely the game.
“Look, the ball slipped out my hands,” Anthony said. “That’s a shot I want to take, but I should have got to the rim.”
Instead, Notre Dame got the ball back. The Fighting Irish gave it to senior John Mooney, who missed a short shot. Then, graduate senior guard Rex Pflueger grabbed the rebound, and passed it to an open Laszewski, who hit the 3-pointer.
Robinson’s full-court heave at the buzzer fell just short of the rim, and the Tar Heels lost, again.
“We didn’t finish the game at the end of the game,” Robinson said. “An offensive rebound leading out to a 3. We’ve got to rebound.”
This story was originally published February 17, 2020 at 9:02 PM.
