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The Virginia Cavaliers' second ACC Tournament championship game in three years was within their grasp for about thirty minutes. But an ice-cold shooting drought in the second half let North Carolina build a lead the Hoos couldn't overcome. Tired legs from three straight days of tough basketball did in the Cavaliers, and Roy Williams's Tar Heels won a tournament championship to go with their regular-season title, 61-57.
Joel Berry II was Carolina's leading scorer with 19, including 100% from three. Brice Johnson added 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists, while Marcus Paige scored 13 and played stifling defense on Virginia's Malcolm Brogdon almost all night.
Brogdon was Virginia's leading scorer with 15 but only managed to shoot 6-of-22 from the field. A late, desperation three-pointer from Anthony Gill got him to 13 points, and Mike Tobey led Virginia's rebounding with 9.
Virginia didn't make a field goal for 8:12 of the second half, and the Heels were able to go on a 15-5 run during the drought.
The Hoos will likely remain a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament thanks to Villanova's loss in the Big East tournament earlier Saturday. North Carolina's win should elevate them to the top seed line as well.