Off the cuff: Quick fact: The last minute and 15 seconds took nearly 18 minutes to play. There were a lot of key moments in the UNC victory over Kentucky. There was the McAdoo to Tokoto fast break bucket in the first half. There was a Tokoto steal and dunk in the first half. There was a Paige steal where he went the length of the court in the second half. There was the play where Brice Johnson came up with a loose ball and started the fast break to Paige, who alley-ooped it back to Johnson for the dunk. But one moment was sort of forgotten but it might have been at least as big a moment as those above. That's when referee Roger Ayers called a technical foul on Kentucky coach John Calipari with just two seconds left in the half. The Wildcats, who had trailed by five just a couple of minutes earlier, came back to tie it at 30-all. But McAdoo drew a foul on Willie Cauley-Stein right at the end of the half. Calipari vehemently disagreed with the call and picked up the technical. Paige got his only points of the first half with two technical free throws and then McAdoo hit one of two free throws and the Tar Heels went into the lockerroom at halftime with a 33-30 lead. Kentucky managed to take a 46-44 six minutes into the second half but after Nate Britt scored on a layup and Paige stole the ball and scored on a layup, the Tar Heels never trailed again. It remained close through the rest of the game as Carolina left open the door a bit by not hitting free throws. Fortunately the Heels were able to get the ball in Paige's hands and he hit six free throws in the last 38 seconds. |
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