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Hurricanes notch upset victory over No. 11 Tar Heels for biggest win of Jai Lucas’ tenure
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- Hurricanes notch upset victory over No. 11 Tar Heels for biggest win of Jai Lucas’ tenure
CORAL GABLES — The Hurricanes picked up the biggest win of Jai Lucas' first season at Miami on Tuesday night, taking down No. 11 North Carolina 75-66 at the Watsco Center.
Tuesday's victory was Miami's first win over a ranked opponent this season, and UM fans stormed the court after the final buzzer. It was the Hurricanes' first home win against the Tar Heels in four years.
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"It's exciting. I'm just happy for our guys," Lucas said. "Ever since Day 1, they've just been here and been all-in."
The Tar Heels were coming off a dramatic victory over rival Duke — where Lucas previously coached — on Saturday. Miami had been scuffling, dropping three of its previous six games. But the Hurricanes got out to an early lead, thanks in large part to five Tar Heel turnovers in the game's first six minutes. After a Malik Reneau and-one, Miami took a 22-12 lead with 12:41 left in the first half.
But with a couple of well-timed three-pointers, UNC cut the Hurricanes' lead to just one point with just under 10 minutes left in the first half.
North Carolina tied the game at 37 with 3:14 left in the midst of a quick, 7-2 run. The Tar Heels stuck with the Hurricanes despite eight first-half turnovers in large part because of their seven threes (UNC shot 53.8 percent from behind the arc in the first half).
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The Tar Heels tied the game again at 51 as the Hurricanes got off to a 4-for-14 start from the field in the second half. Fortunately for Miami, UNC also struggled to score for parts of the second half. The Hurricanes did enough to keep the Tar Heels a few points behind them for most of the second half, and Miami never trailed.
"Down the stretch, we executed real well," Reneau said. "We held some of their top guys to some bad percentages. So our defense speaks for itself, the way we played. And yeah, we were able to capitalize on a lot of mistakes that they had and that's how we came out and continued to keep the lead throughout the game."
Center Ernest Udeh Jr. came up big in the final two minutes, making one of two free-throw attempts, scooping the loose ball and making a layup to extend UM's lead to six points with just under two minutes left in the second half. Guard Tre Donaldson also made a big play to escape North Carolina's press defense and secure two late points.
Miami's defense helped pave the way for the win. Although North Carolina shot well for stretches, the Tar Heels turned the ball over 11 times. The Hurricanes scored 10 points off those turnovers. After UNC made 55.2 percent of its shots from the field and 53.8 percent of its threes in the first half, the Hurricanes held the Tar Heels to 26.5 percent shooting in the second half and allowed just one three.
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Reneau led the Hurricanes with 16 points, notching a double-double with 10 rebounds. Udeh had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Donaldson added 14 points, and Shelton Henderson had a dozen points.
"We did a better job guarding the three-point line and just being there and contesting them," Lucas said. "I felt like they hit every three in the first half, you know, seven for 13. Everybody who came in hit one. And then in the second half, we were kind of stuck in no-man's land and we kind of adjusted, and our closeouts were better. And we were just able to be able to, there and contest them was the biggest difference."
