CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Freshman Austin Rivers buried a 3-pointer at the horn to give No. 10 Duke an 85-84 win over No. 5 North Carolina on Wednesday night.
Rivers scored a season-high 29 points and hit six 3s, the last of which will certainly live on in the lore of this fierce rivalry.
With the Blue Devils (20-4, 7-2) trailing by two, Rivers launched a 3 over 7-footer Tyler Zeller from the right wing. The ball swished through the net, sending Rivers running down the court in celebration while the rest of his teammates gave chase before mobbing him in front of a stunned UNC crowd.
Rivers’ 3 capped a wild rally for the Blue Devils, who trailed by 10 points with about 2½ minutes left.
Harrison Barnes scored 25 points for the Tar Heels (20-4, 7-2), while Zeller finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds. But Zeller missed a free throw with 13.9 seconds left, setting up Rivers’ winning shot.
It was a finish befitting the rivalry, from Rivers’ shot to Barnes’ second-half surge to a strange play in which Zeller accidentally batted the ball into the Duke basket on a rebound attempt, bringing the Blue Devils within a point with 14.2 seconds left.
From the start, the Blue Devils seemed determined to rely on the 3-point shot to offset the Tar Heels’ dominance inside. They hit plenty early and led by eight in the first half, then cooled off as the Tar Heels charged out of halftime to take control and lead by 13 points.
In the end, however, the Blue Devils’ shooters warmed up just in time to stop North Carolina’s school-record 31-game home winning streak.
First Seth Curry drained a 3 that made it 82-78 with 1:48 left. Then Ryan Kelly followed with a jumper off his own missed 3 that closed the gap to 82-80. Then, after Zeller hit a free throw, Kelly launched a long shot that appeared to be a 3 over John Henson. As the ball was falling short of the rim, Zeller tried for the rebound but accidentally deflected the ball up and into the basket to cut the deficit to 83-82.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Atlantic Coast Conference
At Chapel Hill, N.C.
Wednesday
MEN
No. 10 DUKE 85,
No. 5 NORTH CAROLINA 84
DUKE (20-4)
Kelly 5-12 4-4 15, Mas. Plumlee 4-8 0-3 8, Thornton 1-6 0-0 3, Curry 5-10 1-2 15, Rivers 9-16 5-8 29, Cook 1-4 2-2 4, Dawkins 2-5 2-3 8, Mi. Plumlee 0-1 3-4 3, Hairston 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-62 17-26 85.
NORTH CAROLINA (20-4)
Barnes 8-16 8-12 25, Zeller 8-15 7-11 23, Henson 5-11 2-2 12, Bullock 2-3 0-0 4, Marshall 5-9 4-5 14, Hairston 0-3 0-0 0, McAdoo 3-6 0-0 6, White 0-0 0-0 0, Watts 0-0 0-0 0, Hubert 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-63 21-30 84.
Halftime — North Carolina 43-40. Three-point goals — Duke 14-36 (Rivers 6-10, Curry 4-8, Dawkins 2-5, Thornton 1-6, Kelly 1-7), North Carolina 1-6 (Barnes 1-3, Bullock 0-1, Hairston 0-2). Fouled out — Thornton. Rebounds — Duke 35 (Mas. Plumlee 14), North Carolina 42 (Henson 17). Assists — Duke 8 (Thornton 3), North Carolina 14 (Marshall 8). Total fouls — Duke 25, North Carolina 22. A — 21,750.
