The first half was pretty tight, I’m not sure how tight as I was actually working on lab stuff the whole time. The second half was disappointing, that was until the final two and a half minutes. Harrison Barns made a field goal with 2:38 left putting the Heels up ten. Then the Blue Devils went on a run, complete with Tyler Zeller (UNC star) tipping a three point shot in for Duke, but it was a two since it was tipped in, by a Heel mind you. With 15 seconds left, and no timeouts, Zeller made a free throw putting the heels up by 2. What happened next makes this game an instant classic. The Devils whittled away the clock not wanting to give the Heels time at the other end. With mere seconds left the ball was in the hands of the most productive player on the court, Austin Rivers (yes, Doc Rivers son). At this point in the game Rivers had 26 points, 15 of which were 3-pointers, he was 5-9 from behind the arc. So with the game on the line the ball naturally goes to him. Despite the fact that he had demonstrated incredible proficiency from deep Zeller, the 7-footer who was guarding him, decide, ‘Hey, its Austin Rivers, I better give him plenty of room!’ Rivers shot, the buzzer went off, and then the Tarheels hearts were ripped out as the ball hits the bottom of the net. The four Dukies in the institute, myself included, went wild as the other 25 Tarheels were attempting to process what just happened. It was unbelievable!
As I drove back to Durham with my two roommates, Han and Mat, we decide to go on campus. We went to Cameron where the team would be arriving shortly. There was a fair amount of students and avid fans awaiting the arrival of the team bus. There were intermittent chants reflecting the excitement ignited by a magical finish. For fifteen minutes the crowd grows and then the bus finally arrives. The bus can’t get near Cameron due to the crowd so they let the players and coaches out 30 yards from the arena. The players were having a good time with their fans as they headed toward Cameron. Just to give you an idea on just how crowded it was, at one time I was in the middle of a tight pack group; I was probably touching 5-8 simultaneously. The crowd was so tight that it moved as one entity as the players pushed there way through. At one point I was right next to Austin Rivers as he got up on a small ledge letting out the excitement, which I’m sure was fed straight from the crazy fans.
This was a night I will not forget!
