It took 23 games, butDoherty finally got the balance he was seeking.

The Tar Heels had three players reach the 20-point plateau and shot 67 percent in the second half to knock off Florida State 95-85 Sunday at the Smith Center.

Adam Boone led the way with a career-high 28 points, and Kris Lang and Jason Capel had 21 and 20, respectively, to give UNC three players with 20 for the first time since Jan. 8, 1998.

“That just shows the unselfishness of this team,” Lang said. “We pass the ball around, and I have to credit that with our new offense. It’s just a plain and simple motion offense. Pass, screen and cut.”

The Tar Heels (7-16, 3-10 ACC) trailed 43-40 at the break, but Boone gave them a boost in the second half with his long-range shooting.

With UNC behind 47-42, Boone hit three consecutive 3-pointers to close the deficit to 52-51. Melvin Scott, who hit all five of his shots and scored 13 points, then drained a 3-pointer with 14:41 left to give the TarHeels a 54-52 lead, their first of the second half.

Boone came up big in the closing minutes, when he hit a 3 with 5:16 remaining that increased UNC’s advantage to 75-69. He hit 8 of 10 free throws in the final three minutes to seal the win over the Seminoles (10-13, 3-9), who were led by Monte Cummings’ 28 points.

Boone, who committed some costly turnovers down the stretch at Virginia, didn’t let that loss get him down.

“I’ve been a very confident person all my life,”Boone said.“You just have to understand how to translate that onto the court, when to pick your spots.”

The Tar Heels entered the game with 11 losses in their last 12 games, but Boone has now combined for 51 points and nine assists in the last two wins.

Boone, who hit 6 of his 9 attempts from beyond the arc, got a lot of help from Lang, who dished out four assists. Lang’s presence in the post freed up space on the perimeter for Boone and Scott, but he also had his share of scoring success.

Lang hit 8 of 14 shots and was often matched up against 350-pound Florida State center Nigel Dixon. Dixon scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds in 19 minutes, but he fouled out with 2:20 left on a three-point play by Lang that put UNC ahead 86-79.

“It was like Godzilla, and it was just awesome,” Scott said of the matchup between Dixon and Lang. “Kris, he doesn’t back down. He doesn’t care if you’re 400 pounds or 100 pounds, he’s going to come out and come at you.”

The TarHeels could have probably marked down the date of the ACC Tournament play-in game on their calendars had they lost Sunday, but the victory leaves the league with four teams that have three conference wins.

UNC is now tied with Clemson at 3-10 and only a half-game behind Florida State and Georgia Tech in the standings. A strong finish to the regular season could propel Carolina all the way to sixth place.

“The goal is to not play in the play-in game, and we need to win every game for the rest of the season,”Lang said. “We want to have the storybook ending, we want to keep playing hard, and hopefully it will happen.”

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