16 Assists For Marshall, Zeller Drops 22, Heels Complete Comeback

Tyler Zeller scored 22 points while John Henson, Harrison Barnes and Reggie Bullock also scored in double-digits as UNC overcame a nine-point deficit in the second half to beat Maryland on Saturday 83-74 in College Park.

 

“We really felt good in the locker room,” says UNC head coach Roy Williams. “That was a tough, tough win and we made some shots down the stretch… I thought defensively that was the best game of our year in the second half. We were really good.”

***Listen to Roy Williams' post game press conference...

 

Henson tallied a double-double by grabbing 12 rebounds and Kendall Marshall fell just short of the same achievement as he racked up 16 assists and 9 points. Despite an unusually high 6 turnovers, Marshall’s 16 assists tie his own UNC record for the most in an ACC game. It’s the third time in his career that he’s cashed in 16 assists in a contest.

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Marshall, who hails from nearby Dumfries, Virginia, says it was a special game for the squad.

 

“To be able to come home and perform well means a lot to me personally,” says Marshall. “More so, it means a lot to our team. We still have some shots that we can knock down. We have shooters and we know (the shots) are going to fall eventually.”

***Listen to Kendall Marshall's post game interview...

 

“I have to give full credit to my teammates, though, because without them making those shots I have zero assists.”

 

The Tar Heels trailed by as many as nine points early in the second half but managed to regain the lead with about nine minutes to play. The nine-point comeback is the largest of the season for UNC.

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With time winding down, Harrison Barnes nailed a nice shot with just more than a minute to go to give the Heels a 76-70 lead. Playing with a sprained ankle, which he tweaked again during the game, he still managed to score 18 points and grab 8 rebounds. Marshall says he’s impressed with his teammate.

 

“Harrison was a warrior,” says Marshall. “You could see it in his face and in the way he was running that he couldn’t move… his ankle you could tell was bother him.”

 

“But the way he played and performed under pressure with that ankle just shows his mentality. He’s a fighter and he’s going to find a way to get it done.”

 

The win for the Tar Heels is even more impressive when you consider their leading scorer, Zeller, and starting point guard, Marshall, picked up their fourth fouls about halfway through the second half.

 

Marshall still played the final eight minutes of the game and was very careful not to pick up his fifth foul, but UNC had to play much of the final stretch without Zeller. They were able to win without him leading the way.

 

Bench play was a weakness for the Tar Heels against the Terrapins. UNC’s bench only contributed 6 points while Maryland got 24 points from non-starters.

 

Maryland’s star guard Terrell Stoglin managed to score 20 points in the game, but had to fire off a lot of shots to reach that number. The Heels once again assigned Reggie Bullock to cover the opposing team’s top-scorer and it paid dividends. Stoglin only shot 1 of 9 from three-point range, due in part to stiff defense from Bullock.

 

With the win, the Tar Heels improve to 20-3 overall and 7-1 in the ACC. Maryland drops to 13-5 on the season and 3-5 in the conference.

 

UNC is still atop the ACC along with Florida State, which is also 7-1 in the conference. Duke, at 6-1, is the only other conference team with one loss and the Blue Devils play host to Miami on Sunday.

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The next game for the Tar Heels is against Duke on Wednesday when a battle for first place in the ACC will potentially be on the line. Tipoff is slated for 9 p.m.