UNC declines to blame lane violation for pricey loss

• David HaleMar 14, 2025, 11:21 PM ET Close College football reporter.Joined ESPN in 2012. Graduate of the University of Delaware.CHARLOTTE,

• N.C.– A teammate tossed a towel

over Jae-Lyn Withers’ head as he walked through the postgame handshake line cleaning away tears. It was a little gesture meant to protect the North Carolina veteran from additional examination after his lane infraction with 4.1 seconds to play removed a made complimentary toss that would have connected the score, sending the Tar Heels to a third loss to Duke this season, 74-71 on Friday, and, maybe, sealing their fate on the exterior of the NCAA competition bubble.Withers was part of a frenetic resurgence effort in the ACC competition semifinal by

the Heels, who trailed by 21 points at halftime and as many as 24 in the 2nd half, just to entirely flummox Duke– which was playing without the hurt Cooper Flagg– down the stretch, trimming their deficit to one as Ven-Allen Lubin stepped to the totally free throw line with simply seconds remaining.Lubin, who finished with a game-high 20 points, missed out on the front end but drained pipes the second to tie the score at 71. Authorities waved off the pail, nevertheless, whistling Withers for the lane offense and providing the ball back to Duke with a one-point lead. Kon Knueppel connected on two free tosses at the other end, and RJ Davis missed out on a last-gasp 3 to seal UNC’s fate.Editor’s Picks 2 Associated “It was a lot more to blame than a lane offense,”Lubin stated later.

“We made a lots of

errors throughout the game. We were in that position trying to dig ourselves out of it and bring out a win or get to overtime.”This was the prevailing mantra in the after-effects of a psychological loss for the Tar Heels: They had done enough to lose long before

that violation, and yet this was still a group more than deserving of an area in the field of 68. Playing without Flagg, Duke’s huge men– Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba II most plainly– showed a discouraging obstacle in the early going, as UNC handled simply 24 first-half points and went into the locker room after a 15-0 Blue Devils run.Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis used the break to advise his group of the numerous other games in which it fell behind big early just to surge back in the 2nd half.

It’s a lesson that showed important for Friday’s performance however likewise one that highlighted the most significant problems UNC deals with as it awaits the committee to assess a résumé that includes too few big wins and too many aggravating losses in the first half of the season. “I think we’ve shown the last number of weeks that we’re a tournament group,” RJ Davis stated of the Heels, who are 9-3 considering that a blowout loss to Duke on Feb. 1.”Look at the trajectory of our entire season, the way we handled difficulty and our perseverance– specifically these last couple weeks. You could not request for a much better team that goes through all that hardship and criticism and still stands firm. I believe that’s a competition group for you right there. That’s what March is everything about. “Hubert Davis refused to react to questions about the lane infraction or UNC’s area on the tournament bubble, noting his group has survived on the bubble for weeks and has largely played its best ball in those situations

.”For our guys to remain concentrated on what is real, continue to prepare, practice and play; whomever we’re playing, keep our eyes concentrated on the competitors right in front of us and be the very best that we can be,”he said. “And for a month and a half, we basically played must-win games. In that circumstance, our team played the best.”The near-collapse by Duke was, according to coach Jon Scheyer, a finding out chance ahead of what the Blue Devils hope will be a deep NCAA competition run. However in the minute

, it felt like little more than utter turmoil.”It was a blur,” he said.Withers’container with 16:02 left in the 2nd half stopped the bleeding for UNC, which had routed by 24 points. The Heels cut the lead to 13 at the under-12-minute timeout and 6 at the under-four.

Seth Trimble drilled 2 totally free throws with 32 seconds to play to pull UNC to within a point. Duke missed a free toss on the other end before Maluach was whistled for his fifth foul, putting Lubin at the line with a possibility at the lead. The lane violation on Withers followed, appearing to take all the air out of UNC’s comeback effort.”I’m unsure that’s happened previously,”Scheyer said.”Because setting, in that situation. However for our team, every week, we have actually seen various game situations throughout the year, so we have actually seen a lot of stuff as a group.

“Duke advances to the ACC competition last against Louisville. Flagg will remain sidelined since of an ankle injury.UNC will wait and wonder whether its most exciting efficiency of the season likewise will be the one that ended its wish for a competition

bid. “We actually had that game,”Trimble said.”I believe we’re an overtime session away from winning that game. However I’m not bashing [. Withers] We do any other things different, and it’s a different game.”