Wake Forest Demon Deacons at North Carolina Tar Heels

No. 13 UNC holds off Wake Forest 73-69 in ACC opener

And yet, the 13th-ranked Tar Heels all know they have to play much better if they want to keep winning in league play.

Berry hit a high-arcing floater in the paint with 10.3 seconds left and UNC closed the game on an 8-0 run to rally past Wake Forest 73-69 on Saturday, barely avoiding its first league-opening loss at home since January 2009.

They also got nothing from their bench beyond sixth-man Cameron Johnson.

And all that left coach Roy Williams in a similarly frustrated state to the last time the Tar Heels had played at home: a stunning 79-75 loss to Wofford 10 days earlier.

"It's not a great positive message to them in the locker room," Williams said, "because by golly, we've got to play smarter and we've got to play harder."

Luke Maye had 17 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels, while Berry had 16. UNC shot just 40 percent but helped itself by taking a 49-34 rebounding advantage and scoring 16 second-chance points to none for Wake Forest (7-6, 0-1).

Theo Pinson hit two free throws with 51.4 seconds left to tie the game at 69. Then, after a missed Wake Forest free throw, Berry drove and floated the shot over 7-foot-1 shot blocker Doral Moore.

UNC still needed Kenny Williams to rebound Keyshawn Woods' push-it-upcourt 3-pointer for the lead and hit two clinching free throws with 1.3 seconds left to seal it.

"I wanted anybody to be aggressive and put their man on their heels," Wake Forest coach Danny Manning said of Woods' shot, adding: "He's made shots like that before. I thought it was online from where I was at and then it kind of drifted to the left."

BIG PICTURE

"We've just got to continue to make shots," Manning said of the late-game trouble. "We're not making shots. We're executing, we're getting some good looks. We just have to knock them down."

LATE FADE

Bryant Crawford scored 17 points to lead the Demon Deacons, and his runner with 2:23 left had given Wake Forest the 69-65 lead. But Brandon Childress missed a 3-pointer, then Crawford missed another on the ensuing possession extended by a jump-ball call.

BENCH PLAY

Johnson had 11 points off the bench for UNC, but the rest of its reserves combined for two points, four rebounds and three turnovers with none playing more than 8 minutes.

UP NEXT

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons host Syracuse on Wednesday.

UNC: The Tar Heels travel to No. 24 Florida State on Wednesday.

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Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap

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