The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
White, Tar Heels outlast Tigers
CLEMSON, S.C. — No. 5 North Carolina survived a wild second half after coach Roy Williams fell and was helped off the court shortly before halftime, beating Clemson 81-79 on Saturday.
Coby White had 28 points behind six 3-pointers, and the Tar Heels (24-5) maintained a share of first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, tied with No. 2 Virginia at 14-2 with a week left in the regular season.
They also survived a tight finish where the Tigers (1712) cut a seven-point lead to two. But Shelton Mitchell lost the ball driving into two North Carolina defenders in the final seconds.
Williams wasn’t there to see it. He sustained an episode of vertigo with a minute left before halftime, falling in front of his team’s bench and getting led into the locker room. He did not return for the final 20 minutes.
The Tar Heels rallied in a roller-coaster second half — they led by nine, fell behind 54-48 before finally taking control — for their fifth straight win and 12th in their past 13 games.
Cameron Johnson had 19 points with six 3s of his own, and Luke Maye had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
No surprise that it was White, Maye and Johnson front and center in North Carolina’s comeback.
The Tigers closed to 80-79 on Shelton Mitchell’s foul shots with 10.3 seconds left.
After Kenny Williams hit a foul shot, Mitchell drove toward the basket was met by two defenders and could not get a shot off.
North Carolina’s Williams, 68, has had vertigo before in games, leaving a win over Boston College three years ago.
Steve Robinson, the former Florida State coach and now Tar Heel assistant, took over for Williams.