Felix beats buzzer to lift men’s basketball over No. 3 UNC

By Steve Lansdale

AUSTIN, Texas — Senior guard Javan Felix drained a jump shot as time expired to lift the University of Texas men’s basketball team to an 84-82 upset of third-ranked North Carolina at the Frank Erwin Center.

“I know I had it,” Felix said about the game-winning shot. “When I started going to go get the ball, I noticed that I had 1.7 seconds left. I knew I had time to pick it up and get a shot off.”

With the victory, the Longhorns [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]improved their season record to 6-3, while the Tar Heels fell to 7-2. Texas has won its last three meetings against UNC, and improved its record in home games against teams in the Associated Press top five to 7-4 over the last dozen years. The last time the Longhorns beat a team in the AP top five was Jan. 22, 2011 at Kansas.

First-year UT head coach Shaka Smart said that while the Longhorns still have room for improvement, he was very happy with his team’s performance that led to the most significant win of his initial season in Austin.

“We want our guys to play with no hesitation, and I think early in the year for a variety of reasons we had some avoidance,” Smart said. “But, today I think we played loose and aggressive, and we weren’t playing not to make a mistake, and it allowed our guys to make some shots. If we carry that over to the foul line, it would help a lot, but I am really proud of our guys.”

North Carolina head coach Roy Williams pointed to UT’s advantage on the glass as one of the reasons for the outcome, and was quick to credit Smart and the rest of the Texas staff.

“I have to congratulate Shaka and his team,” Williams said. “This was a big-time game, big-time atmosphere, and they made the plays down the stretch. Their last four points were offensive rebounds their guards got. They out-rebounded us badly, 36-27, and scored 21-points on offensive rebounds. As a team, I thought we battled and we need to practice in games how to not get into foul trouble and work on playing defense without fouling. (Javan) Felix is a big-time player for them and that’s a big moment for him, and you have to congratulate Shaka and his staff.”

Texas center Cameron Ridley scored 12 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, and guard Isaiah Taylor scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half.

Felix’s game-winner was dramatic, but the ’Horns are not unfamiliar with buzzer beaters. The last time a Longhorn hit a shot as time expired was in the second round of the 2014 NCAA tournament when Ridley’s put-back beat Arizona State. It was the first such shot at the Erin Center since Jonathan Holmes connected on a three-pointer at the buzzer to beat Kansas State, 67-64, Jan. 24, 2014.

Felix finished the game with 25 points, topping 20 points for the first time this season and the eighth time in his career. Not only were the 25 points the most he has scored this season, but Felix also established new season highs in field goals made (nine) and three-pointers (five).

Felix said the victory over the Tar Heels is a gratifying acknowledgement of the hard work he and his teammates have put in during the early part of the season, but also acknowledged that room for improvement remains.

“It means a lot because we work hard every day,” Felix said. “We know how good we can be if we put everything together. We know we can match up against a lot of these teams that are praised and have these high ranks, but we are just going to keep working hard and do what we do. It’s a really good game for us today, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
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