Tar Heels rally to top BC after Williams collapses

North Carolina-Boston College PreviewMarcus Paige had his best shooting performance in a little more than a month this past weekend but couldn’t keep North Carolina from its first losing streak of the season. A dizzy Williams was able to walk off the court but was helped back to the locker room. Trainers quickly responded to Williams, who sat on the court, holding his head with both hands. Assistant coach Steve Robinson led the team over the final 14:35 of the game.

North Carolina is ranked No. 9 in this week’s AP Poll and its victory over the Golden Eagles keeps them atop the conference standings with a 9-2 record in ACC play and 20-4 overall. But Coach never quits.

Carolina spokesman Steve Kirschner said Williams, 65, who has suffered from vertigo in the past, felt dizzy and returned to the locker room but was OK. “We don’t have enough guys playing consistently yet”, coach Jim Christian said. “I’m kicking”, Williams told reporters after the game. “And deservedly so. Anybody who saw this game today saw a lot of heart, a lot of character”.

“We know he’ll be back out there for us”.

Justin Jackson scored 20 points off the bench to lead UNC. It was still four points when Milon made a 3 with 5.6 seconds to play to make it 66-65.

For close to 37 minutes on Tuesday night, all hope looked lost for the struggling No. 9 UNC men’s basketball team.

It was the first game all year in which Jackson and senior forward Brice Johnson did not start, as Williams sat them and junior Kennedy Meeks in search of a spark for the team. “Try to get this win for him”, Carter said. Paige finished with 11 points and showed his three point slump was indeed over hitting 3-6 from beyond the arc. Of those 36 points, 31 came from Jackson, Meeks and Johnson – the three players demoted to the bench unit for this game. The Tar Heels led that game by 15 late in the first half but could not make enough stops after the break and forced just two turnovers overall.