CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Kaleb Joseph dribbled over the North Carolina logo at halfcourt and frantically glanced at the game clock above the backboard.

Joseph had three seconds to race to the net. He accelerated his dribble before gliding in for a finger roll that gave Syracuse a five-point lead as the first-half clock ran out.

When the freshman point guard turned to see the five Tar Heels he’d burned down the court, teammate Trevor Cooney was the closest player. Cooney gave Joseph a hard high-five before yelling “Let’s go boy!” and the Orange jogged to its locker room as the streaking team.

But the second half never offered that kind of separation. Instead, Syracuse (14-7, 5-3 Atlantic Coast) and No. 13 North Carolina (17-4, 7-1) turned into offensive heavyweights and the Tar Heels had a bit more juice in the Dean E. Smith Center on Monday night. With a near-flawless second half, UNC stiff-armed SU in a 93-83 win, the Orange’s second ACC loss in three days after falling to Miami on Saturday.

The first half belonged to Cooney and his 15 points, but SU could only build a five-point halftime lead despite 13 North Carolina turnovers in the first half. The Tar Heels were sloppy in trying to crack the Orange’s zone, and Syracuse seemed comfortable at the up-and-down pace that North Carolina regularly plays at.

Then UNC, which shot an uncharacteristic 56 percent from 3 in the first, started bullying SU in the paint. While Rakeem Christmas found an offensive groove that was noticeably absent in the first frame, Tar Heel forwards Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson found the cracks in the zone and led the North Carolina offense.

Yet every time UNC went on a mini run, SU head coach Jim Boeheim stood in front of the Orange bench, clapping in a calm rhythm as the stadium erupted around him. And Syracuse followed Boeheim’s metronomic beat, meeting each UNC spurt with one of its own.

Cooney’s dominance turned into a 14-point second half for Christmas. And if it wasn’t Christmas it was sophomore Tyler Roberson. And if it wasn’t Roberson it was Cooney shaking Tar Heels forward J.P. Tokoto for an off-balance jumper.

But then the wheels fell off around the three-minute mark.

Roberson fouled out. Joseph turned the ball over looking for a cutting Michael Gbinije. Gbinije split two free throws and then threw away an entry pass as the game clock ticked toward one minute.

Gbinije hits a 3 before Cooney completed a three-point play in the final minute, but UNC gave itself a big enough cushion to rest on.

Before the final buzzer sounded, Joseph knifed into the lane and had the ball ripped out of his hands by UNC guard Marcus Paige. This time there was no celebratory high-five from Cooney. Joseph hadn’t beaten anyone down the floor. The Orange walked off the court with little energy, if any at all.

Published on January 26, 2015 at 9:15 pm

Contact Jesse: jcdoug01@syr.edu | @dougherty_jesse