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Florida State loses tough battle with North Carolina

 
North Carolina's Nate Britt, left, battles Florida State's Xavier Rathan-Mayes for the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday Jan. 24, 2015, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Ellen Ozier) NCEO103
North Carolina's Nate Britt, left, battles Florida State's Xavier Rathan-Mayes for the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday Jan. 24, 2015, in Chapel Hill, N.C. (AP Photo/Ellen Ozier) NCEO103
Published Jan. 25, 2015

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Xavier Rathan-Mayes couldn't do it by himself.

Florida State's star guard scored a school freshman-record 35, but No. 15 North Carolina came away with a 78-74 victory Saturday over the Seminoles.

Rathan-Mayes became the fourth player ever to reach 35 points against the Tar Heels (16-4, 6-1 ACC) at the Dean E. Smith Center.

"Truthfully, I didn't even know I had 35, but it's a blessing," Rathan-Mayes said. "This is something I prepared for my whole life — to be able to step into a stage like North Carolina and perform at such a high level.

"My teammates embraced me. I was feeling it early, and my teammates were encouraging me to be aggressive and encouraging me to keep doing what I was doing for us to win this game. It was a good night, but wish we could've won."

Rathan-Mayes scored 11 in the final minute, finishing 14-of-26 from the floor and 5-of-11 on 3-pointers. The rest of the Seminoles (10-10, 2-5) shot 13-for-35.

Duke's J.J. Redick was the last to score 35 on North Carolina's homecourt back in 2006.

"He scores 35 on us, and I don't know how to pronounce his (last) name," UNC coach Roy Williams said of Rathan-Mayes. "But we held him scoreless without a field goal for about four or five minutes, but all of a sudden in the last 30 seconds he made three or four of them in a row.

"He was a difficult guy for us to guard."

Brice Johnson had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead North Carolina. The slender 6-foot-9 junior played through back tightness that had him standing at the end of the bench when he subbed out instead of sitting with teammates. He also aggravated his back on a hard fall in the first half but finished through contact and rebounded in traffic on a day when the Tar Heels needed help for an injury-depleted backcourt.

"It's a work in progress," Williams said of Johnson. "Brice is getting better. His toughness (Saturday) was maybe one of the best games he's had because he's hurting. … But he's nowhere close to what I think he can be."

Johnson had his fourth double double despite playing 23 minutes due to first-half foul trouble. He has hit 15 of 20 shots in the past two games, though Williams was critical of Johnson's inconsistent effort in Wednesday's win at Wake Forest.

Not Saturday.

"It's really helping me, just hearing it over and over," Johnson said of Williams' demands. "Then once you get in a game you hear that little voice in the back of your mind, and it's usually Coach saying, 'Go up strong, go through the contact.' "