By R.L. Bynum
CHARLOTTE — For most of Thursday night, North Carolina looked out of sync.
The Tar Heels struggled to establish an offensive rhythm, had difficulty getting stops on the other end, and watched Clemson build a double-digit lead that eventually swelled to 18 points in the second half. Only in the final minutes did UNC find the urgency it needed, nearly completing a stunning comeback before falling 80–79 Thursday in the ACC tournament quarterfinals at the Spectrum Center.
The late surge showed what the Tar Heels were capable of, which made the earlier stretches even harder for the players to accept afterward.
“I’m proud of our guys for fighting, but we shouldn’t have been in that situation in the first place,” forward Jarin Stevenson said, who almost always has a smile on his face in postgame interviews but not on this night. “It comes again with energy and getting stops earlier in the game.”
For much of the night, North Carolina struggled to generate that energy defensively. Clemson consistently found quality shots, preventing the Tar Heels from stringing together the stops needed to fuel a run.
“We’ve got to defend better,” said Stevenson, who had 12 points and seven rebounds. “I feel like they’re getting good looks, good shots, and I feel like we just needed more energy.”
The lack of stops meant every attempt at momentum quickly stalled. When UNC began to cut into the deficit, Clemson answered with a basket.
“We couldn’t really get our runs going because they were scoring on the other end,” Stevenson said. “So, we’ve got to be better.”
Guard Derek Dixon said the Tar Heels’ offense also lacked its usual flow for long stretches. Clemson’s defensive pressure and UNC’s stagnant movement combined to limit the quality of looks the Tar Heels generated.
“I think we were just getting a little too stagnant,” Dixon said. “The ball was sticking too much. The way they were playing the ball screens was messing us up a little bit. I felt like we just had to be better flowing in our offense, moving the ball side to side and getting some better looks.”
Senior guard Seth Trimble said Clemson’s defensive scheme had been a challenge for North Carolina.
“They pack the lane, they go under on everything and do a good job of swarming,” Trimble said. “They reach a good way a lot. They get away with a lot. They’re just a well-rounded defensive team.”
That defensive pressure, combined with missed opportunities early, allowed Clemson to control the tempo for much of the game. UNC had moments when it generated decent shots, but converting them proved difficult.
Center Henri Veesaar, who put up career highs of 28 points and 17 rebounds, said Clemson’s physical play also disrupted the Tar Heels’ offense.
“They were being physical, we were kind of getting pushed off our spots,” Veesaar said. “We were struggling to make shots, and it disrupted our offense.”
As the deficit grew, however, North Carolina finally began to loosen up. Players attacked more aggressively, the ball moved more quickly, and the shots that had been missing earlier finally began to fall.
“Everybody stopped really caring about being scared to make mistakes,” Veesaar said. “They just started playing desperate. Everybody had ultimate confidence to take every shot and that kind of worked.”
The rally began defensively, with UNC finally stringing together stops and turning them into transition chances. Dixon sparked the offense with several late 3-pointers, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the final 3:33.
“Shots started to fall, but I think it started defensively,” Dixon said. “Just a little bit more edge about us, a little bit more fight and just trying to do whatever we could to get back in that game.”
Trimble agreed that the Tar Heels’ defensive intensity was the biggest difference during the late run.
“Just being as tough as possible out there, trying to make the right plays, trying to make tough plays and just playing with energy,” Trimble said. “We found our spark, but it just came too late.”
Even so, the comeback attempt highlighted the team’s resilience. After trailing by 18 points with just over 11 minutes left, UNC cut the margin to one in the final seconds.
“This shows a lot about character, the resilience,” Veesaar said. “But we’re one shot away from winning or going to overtime.”
The final chance belonged to Stevenson after Clemson missed two free throws with 2.7 seconds left. With no timeouts remaining, he pushed the ball up the court and tried to get off a final desperation shot before the buzzer.
“I knew we had no timeouts,” Stevenson said. “I knew it was like two seconds left, so I took like two dribbles and tried to get a shot up.”
The attempt came up short, ending North Carolina’s ACC tournament run and giving the Tar Heels consecutive losses for the first time since the forgettable California trip in January.
Despite the disappointment, players said the late fight should serve as a reminder of the standard they need to maintain moving forward.
“I feel like that should spark something,” Stevenson said. “Our next game could really be our last game, so we got to be hungry.”
For Trimble, the timing of the loss made the sting even sharper.
“It stings because it’s March,” Trimble said. “You can learn from this and move on in the regular season. But a game like this in March, you come that close and now you’re out of the ACC tournament. It hurts.”
Now the Tar Heels have a week to regroup before the NCAA tournament begins. Players said the lesson from Thursday’s loss is clear.
“We’ve got to come out the game with that fight,” Dixon said. “It can’t waver.”
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ACC tournament
Spectrum Center | Charlotte
Tuesday’s first round
No. 15 Pittsburgh 64, No. 10 Stanford 63
No. 11 SMU 86, No. 14 Syracuse 69
No. 13 Wake Forest 95, No. 12 Virginia Tech 89, OT
Wednesday’s second round
No. 7 N.C. State 98, Pittsburgh 88
No. 6 (No. 24 ranked) Louisville 62, SMU 58
No. 8 Florida State 95, No. 9 California 89
No. 5 Clemson 71, Wake Forest 62
Thursday’s quarterfinals
No. 2 (No. 10 ranked) Virginia 81, N.C. State 74
No. 3 Miami 78, Louisville 73
No. 1 (No. 1 ranked) Duke 80, Florida State 79
Clemson 80, No. 4 (No. 19 ranked) North Carolina 79
Friday’s semifinals, ESPN2
Virginia (28–4) vs. Miami (25–7), 7 p.m.
Duke (30–2) vs. Clemson (24–9), 9:30
Saturday’s championship
8:30, ESPN
Photo courtesy of the ACC
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