2012 parallels fuel Tar Heels as North Carolina exacts revenge on Blue Devils

Duke's 74-73 win in Chapel Hill left a sore taste in the Tar Heels' mouths. For the second time in five years, North Carolina found a way to lose a game it appeared to have in hand.

But that loss, it turned out, proved to be the perfect dose of motivation heading into Saturday's rematch at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Not that the Tar Heels needed any extra ammo before taking the floor in enemy territory, but the fact that the 2011-12 squad—which fell on Austin Rivers' buzzer-beating 3-pointer Feb. 8, 2012—responded by blowing out the Blue Devils 88-70 to capture the ACC regular season title just a few weeks later set the precedent for what they wanted to accomplish Saturday in Durham.

North Carolina did not run away and hide from Duke this time around, but made the winning plays late to hold off a late Blue Devil rally, 76-72, grabbing its first road win in the rivalry since that 2012 victory and securing the regular-season conference title.

"I reminded our team of 2012, when Austin Rivers made the big three at the end of the game over at our place when we thought we had the game won, should have had the game won, and we didn’t," North Carolina head coach Roy Williams said. "And then we came over here and played very well, played great in fact and ended up winning the game over here. I told them it’s been done before and we can do it again to try to give our kids confidence."

Five Tar Heels scored in double-figures Saturday, led by Brice Johnson's 18 points and 21 rebounds. Five years ago, the North Carolina starting lineup all wound up with at least 12 points, with floor general Kendall Marshall pacing the squad with 20 points and 10 assists.

Seniors Johnson and Marcus Paige did not suffer through the agony of the Rivers loss, but stifled their own demons in Durham Saturday, avenging last season's 92-90 overtime loss—a game the Tar Heels led by seven with 1:30 to go.

"It’s a wonderful feeling in our locker room right now, there’s no question about that," Williams said. "Sometimes you say some things that work, sometimes you say some things that don’t."

Whatever he said Saturday, it certainly worked.

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