By Brent Kallestad
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. ó Ty Lawson’s running 3-pointer at the buzzer gave No. 5 North Carolina an 80-77 win over Florida State on Wednesday night.
Lawson took an inbounds pass with 3.2 seconds left and raced downcourt, swishing his shot at near full speed from the top of the arc. As soon as the ball went through, teammates rushed over and mobbed Lawson.
“I saw there was one second on the clock and shot a floater,” Lawson said outside a jubilant North Carolina locker room. “It went in luckily. I wasn’t sure.”
The Tar Heels overcame 32 points from Florida State’s Toney Douglas, who scored 24 in the second half to help the Seminoles wipe out a 52-39 deficit and give themselves a chance to win.
Florida State (16-5, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) couldn’t get off a shot on its final possession, however. The shot clock expired, giving the ball back to the Tar Heels and setting up Lawson’s buzzer-beater.
North Carolina (18-2, 4-2) was led by Lawson’s 21 points. Danny Green added 20 and Wayne Ellington 14, making up for Tyler Hansbrough’s quiet game. Last season’s national player of the year scored only eight points.
The Tar Heels won despite shooting just 38.1 percent and committing 21 turnovers.
“How lucky we were,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “That’s the bottom line.”
Douglas, averaging 27 points per game over his last four ACC contests, was 9-of-20 from the floor and 13-of-14 at the free throw line. Uche Echeful added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Seminoles.
“Toney Douglas is a wrecking crew for them,” Williams said. “What a game he played.”
North Carolina scored 35 points in the final 8:55 of the first half to take a 46-35 lead despite Hansbrough spending much of the time on the bench with foul trouble. He scored just two points in the half.
Lawson sprained his left ankle 4 minutes into last year’s game at Florida State after colliding with 240-pound Ryan Reid underneath the North Carolina basket. Lawson missed much of the remainder of the season.
“They made one more great play than we did,” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said.