DURHAM, N.C. (AP) – Brice Johnson had 18 points and 21 rebounds, and No. 8 North Carolina held on to beat No. 17 Duke 76-72 on Saturday night and lock up the top seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
Kennedy Meeks added 12 points and 14 rebounds, Joel Berry II scored seven of his 12 in the final 5 minutes and Marcus Paige hit four free throws in the final 10 seconds to help the Tar Heels (25-6, 14-4) earn their first win on Duke’s floor since 2012.
North Carolina never trailed and rode its inside game, building a 64-29 rebounding advantage and outscoring Duke 42-20 in the paint.
Grayson Allen scored 29 points while Luke Kennard added 20 for the Blue Devils (22-9, 11-7), who hit 13 3-pointers – including one by Kennard with 9.3 seconds left that made it 72-70.
Paige hit two free throws with 8.8 seconds left. After Marshall Plumlee dunked home Allen’s missed layup with 2.8 seconds left to make it 74-72, Paige iced it with two more foul shots with 1.5 seconds.