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Lane violation dooms UNC basketball vs. Duke
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- Lane violation dooms UNC basketball vs. Duke
The North Carolina Tar Heels had the chance to leave no doubt in their NCAA Tournament chances. And now after a key lane violation at the end of the game, the Tar Heels are going to have a very stressful next 40 or so hours.
With North Carolina trailing 72-71 with four seconds left, Ven-Allen Lubin went to the free throw line with the chance to give the Tar Heels the lead. After missing the first free throw, he made the second but it was ruled no good after Jae'Lyn Withers committed a lane violation. Duke then sank two free throws to take the 74-71 win and sweeping all three games this season.
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While Withers will get the blame on social media, it was the poor perimeter shooting and free throws that doomed the Tar Heels.
UNC went 3-of-17 from the three-point line in the game with Elliot Cadeau making all three attempts. They struggled big time with three air balls from the three-point line including Allen's last second attempt. They also missed eight free throws, failing to take advantage of some mistakes by Duke .
However, this game was the tale of two different halves.
North Carolina came out sluggish, watching a Duke team without Cooper Flag and Maliq Brown go on a big run and dominate the first half. The Blue Devils looked like the team fighting for their NCAA Tournament lives while Carolina just looked like they wanted to leave.
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UNC dug themselves in a big hole as Duke went on a 35-15 run in the first half to grab a 45-24 lead at halftime. The second half was going to tell us all we needed to know about this team. And they actually came out strong.
The Tar Heels kept chipping at Duke's lead, getting the 25 point-lead down to 12. Then under 10 and finally to one before the mistake at the end. UNC rode the back of Lubin who had 20 points in the game but also Cadeau who led a flurry late in that half.
It was a different energy for the Tar Heels in the second half and it was impressive. However, execution down the stretch hurt UNC.
Now, North Carolina will await their fate for the NCAA Tournament. The hopes are that they can still sneak in and find themselves in Dayton next week.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC basketball doomed by lane violation against Duke
