By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Repeated open 3-point attempts didn’t fall, and the game looked in doubt for No. 17 North Carolina until Luka Bogavac suddenly seized control.
The junior Montenegrin scored a season-high 20 points, including three of his season-high six 3-pointers, during a pivotal second-half run topped off by two huge free throws with 12.2 seconds left.
Thanks to his clutch shooting, and the Tar Heels’ defense denying Clemson a late 3-point attempt that could have tied it, they held off Clemson for an emotional 67–63 senior night victory Tuesday at the Smith Center.
After senior Seth Trimble’s free throw with 0.9 of a second left put the game away, senior Elijah Davis, Coach Hubert Davis’ son, came in to finish the game, a moment years in the making.
“As soon as Seth hit that free throw, I said, ‘Elijah, go in,’ ” Coach Davis said after double-checking with his assistant coaches that it would seal the win. “It was almost like he didn’t remember his name. He looked at me and was like, ‘You’re putting me in now?’ I wanted him to have that moment of being on the court for the last time.”
Clemson (21–9, 11–6 ACC) had the ball down three with 10 seconds left, but UNC (24–6, 12–5) switched on everything and never allowed an open 3-point attempt. The Tigers had to settle for a Dillon Hunter drive that rimmed out, setting up Trimble’s free throw.
“We put in a lineup that we felt like could do that and execute [the switching] from a defensive standpoint,” Davis said. “We were switching everything, not just on the ball — off the ball. It made it difficult for them to get the ball in, and that’s why they drove it into the lane.”
Davis said that he decided not to foul to put Clemson at the line because Henri Veesaar (13 points, 6 rebounds) had fouled out with 37.1 seconds left.
Jarin Stevenson scored six of his nine points in a key second-half stretch and pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds, including a huge one with 55.4 seconds left to set up Derek Dixon’s 3-pointer with 46 seconds left.
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On a night Carolina honored RJ Davis for his No. 4 going up in the rafters, Bogavac delivered the kind of shot-making that was Davis’ trademark to help finish off the first 18–0 home season in program history.
The Heels did it by shooting better from outside the arc (44.4%; 12-for-27) than they did on two-point attempts (32.2%).
With UNC struggling to make a shot, Bogavac’s rhythm changed the game.
“So it was important for us just to find a rhythm,” said Bogavac, who said he has hit more 3-pointers in games in Europe, but he didn’t remember the number.
But he made some shots that Davis will certainly remember.
“He’s a guy that obviously can hit open shots, but he also does a really good job of hitting contested shots, and he made some big ones for us tonight,” Davis said. “He’s one of those guys, once he hits one, he wants another look. So, we called three straight plays for him just to be able to get him open.”
Bogavac showed about as much emotion as he’s shown all season, and he said the urgency of senior night drove that.
“For me, it was important just to win this game for our seniors, just to let them go [out] with a win,” he said.
Clemson consistently beat UNC on pick-and-rolls much of the night, with the biggest beneficiary being senior guard RJ Godfrey, who scored a season-high 22 points. Godfrey beat Bogavac for points several times, but Bogavac’s defense got better as the game went on.
The game turned several times. Trimble (9 points, 4 rebounds) opened with a corner 3 out of pick-and-roll, and Stevenson’s early 3-pointer helped build an 11–5 lead four minutes in.
Clemson punched back behind Godfrey, whose second 3-pointer of the season and a Jestin Porter three capped a 10–2 surge, putting the Tigers ahead 19–17 with 8:58 left in the first half.
Veesaar’s jumper stopped a nearly six-minute field-goal drought with 6½ minutes left, and his dunk finished a 10–2 answer for a 27–23 UNC lead with 2½ minutes before halftime. Clemson closed the half on a 7–0 run, however, and led 30–27 after a Johnson 3-pointer with two seconds left.
Godfrey extended the spurt to 9–0 with a jumper 40 seconds into the second half as Clemson.
UNC finally broke through when Bogavac buried back-to-back threes, igniting a 15–3 run. Stevenson then supplied a forceful stretch to push the lead to 44–37, scoring six points that included four free throws after a flagrant foul committed by Nick Davidson and a strong layup with 14:39 left.
Stevenson said the charge was about staying on the gas.
“I’m just doing whatever I can to help the team win,” said Stevenson, who credited the big men with syncing up once Bogavac got hot. “He was knocking them down coming off screens. He did a good job just being ready to shoot. We have confidence in him and his shooting ability.”
Clemson did not fade, though. A Carter Welling 3 ended more than three scoreless Clemson minutes and sparked a 15–5 run to a 52–49 Tigers lead with 6:49 left.
Bogavac answered again with three more 3s in a 12–3 Carolina surge, and Trimble’s short jumper made it 61–55 with 2:11 remaining.
An Ace Buckner 3 and a Godfrey free throw cut it to two with 1:25 left. After Stevenson’s big rebound and Dixon’s clutch 3, Hunter trimmed it back to one with two free throws and a layup with 18 seconds to go.
Veesaar admitted that watching the final sequence from the bench was nerve-wracking.
“I did not want overtime after fouling out, so I was really hoping we could get it done,” Veesaar said.
Trimble’s journey gave the night significance, from the opening three to the clinching free throw. He said finishing his career in Chapel Hill, after staying through ups and downs, made the moment.
“It means everything that I stayed; I didn’t run,” Trimble said. “Most guys in competition, without a doubt, they would have transferred. They would have ran; they wouldn’t have faced the problem at hand.”
The perfect home slate felt personal to the head coach, who also soaked in a brief father-son moment when Elijah Davis checked in for the final seconds.
“I always wanted to coach him, but I never thought it would ever happen,” Hubert Davis said. “To be able to have that opportunity is such a blessing.”
Notes
— UNC finishes the regular season at 6:30 Saturday (ESPN) at No. 1 Duke (28–2, 16–1), which rolled Monday to a 93–64 victory at N.C. State.
— Carolina can clinch a double-bye and at least the No. 4 seed in the ACC tournament if No. 22 Miami wins either at SMU on Wednesday or at home against Louisville on Saturday.
— Bogavac scored the most 3-pointers by a Tar Heel since RJ Davis made four in the First Four last season against San Diego State.
— It’s Carolina’s longest home streak since winning 22 in a row beginning from Feb. 20, 2016, until a Dec. 20, 2017, loss to Wofford.
— UNC shot 37.9% from the floor, the lowest percentage in a win this season (previous low was 38.8% against Radford). The Heels are 2–3 this season when shooting worse than 40%.
— Elijah Davis started in place of Bogavac and played just over two minutes. Three senior managers were also honored before the game.
— An inadvertent whistle from a referee denied Zayden High a first-half field goal.
— UNC finished undefeated at home for the 23rd time.
—Carolina leads the all-time series with Clemson 137–25, including 61–2 in Chapel Hill and 30–2 in the Smith Center.
No. 17 UNC 67, Clemson 63
| Team | League | Overall | NET* | WAB* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Duke | 17–1 | 29–2 | 1 | 2 |
| No. 10 Virginia | 15–3 | 27–4 | 13 | 11 |
| Miami | 13–5 | 24–7 | 32 | 28 |
| No. 19 North Carolina | 12–6 | 24–7 | 23 | 19 |
| Clemson | 12–6 | 22–9 | 36 | 33 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 11–7 | 22–9 | 14 | 25 |
| N.C. State | 10–8 | 19–12 | 35 | 45 |
| Florida State | 10–8 | 17–14 | 69 | 74 |
| California | 9–9 | 21–10 | 65 | 49 |
| Stanford | 9–9 | 20–11 | 59 | 51 |
| SMU | 8–10 | 19–12 | 39 | 50 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–10 | 19–12 | 53 | 52 |
| Wake Forest | 7–11 | 16–15 | 64 | 81 |
| Syracuse | 6–12 | 15–16 | 83 | 92 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–13 | 12–19 | 109 | 146 |
| Notre Dame | 4–14 | 13–18 | 93 | 121 |
| Boston College | 4–14 | 11–20 | 159 | 217 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–16 | 11–20 | 167 | 210 |
* — Through Sunday games
Saturday’s results
No. 1 Duke 76, No. 19 North Carolina 61
Boston College 77, Notre Dame 69
Clemson 79, Georgia Tech 76
No. 24 Louisville 92, Miami 89
Florida State 92, SMU 78
Stanford 85, N.C. State 84
Wake Forest 80, California 73
Pittsburgh 71, Syracuse 69, OT
END OF REGULAR SEASON
ACC tournament
Spectrum Center | Charlotte
Tuesday through Saturday
Schedule revealed so far
| Date | Month/day | Opponent/event (final ranks) |
|---|---|---|
| October | ||
| 9 | Friday, 7 p.m. | vs. USC in Greensboro (exhibition) |
| 18 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis (exhibition) |
| November | ||
| 2 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina |
| 6 | Friday | vs. Wofford |
| 10 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming |
| 13 | Friday | vs. Georgia |
| 20 | Friday | vs. Marshall |
| 27 | Friday | vs. West Virginia in Charlotte |
| December | ||
| 1 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 13 Arkansas |
| 6 | Sunday | vs. Butler |
| 12 | Saturday | at Georgetown |
| 15 | Tuesday (date tentative) | vs. N.C. State in Greensboro |
| 19 | 2:30 Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. Kentucky in New York |
| 21 | Monday | vs. The Citadel |
| January | ||
| 30 | Saturday | vs. No. 5 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. |
ACC games
Home and away: Duke and Louisville
Home only: California, Georgia Tech, Miami, N.C. State, SMU, Stanford and Virginia
Away only: Boston College, Florida State, Notre Dame, Pitt, Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics
