Perhaps second time is the charm.
There was just one problem when North Carolina fans initially stormed the court for the No. 14 Tar Heels’ 71-68 win over rival No. 4 Duke on Saturday: time was still on the clock.
With the game tied at 68, UNC guard Seth Trimble nailed a 3-point shot in the corner as the clock ran down to put his team up three, prompting fans in the sellout crowd at the Dean E. Smith Center to run on the court in celebration.
Upon further review, however, officials found that there was still 0.4 seconds left on the clock, theoretically giving Duke enough time to get a shot up and potentially tie the game.
Officials then had to clear the hundreds of fans on the court for the final play, which surprisingly went smoothly as spectators quickly filed back into the stands after the arena’s public address announcer told fans to head back to their seats.
Duke (21-2, 10-1 ACC) ultimately could not make anything of their lifeline, sealing the win for the Tar Heels.
Like clockwork, fans stormed the court a second time to celebrate North Carolina’s win — this time without any interruption from referees.
The Tar Heels handed Duke just its second loss of the season and its first in ACC conference play.
North Carolina improved to 19-4 and are 7-3 in the ACC.
Saturday’s game was the first NCAA meetup between star freshmen Caleb Wilson of UNC and Cameron Boozer of Duke, both of whom are expected to be lottery picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Wilson led the way for North Carolina, scoring 23 points and grabbing four rebounds on 8-for-12 shooting.
“We gotta give them that belt,” Wilson said of Duke to ESPN alongside his teammates immediately following the win.
Despite the loss, Boozer did not disappoint for Duke, scoring 24 points and grabbing 11 rebounds while shooting 10-for-21 from the field.