CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina forward Luke Maye didn’t seem overly concerned about the friendly fire that created the need for facial stitches Tuesday night.
The result of teammate Kenny Williams’ first-half
elbow in the Clemson game was five stitches on the side of his nose.
What about the impact on his appearance?
“I think it looks OK,” Maye said. “I already have a girlfriend, so it’s all good.”
Maye was able to joke about the situation in the aftermath, in part because of the Tar Heels’ 87-79 victory at the Smith Center.
Williams seemed more upset about the damage he had done. The junior duo has called each other best of friends for the past couple of seasons. They’re roommates.
“I felt really bad,” Williams said. “I didn’t know if he was going to be able to come back into the game.”
Williams went to lengths to explain his friendship with Maye. That made Williams more bothered by the wayward elbow.
Meanwhile, Maye downplayed the situation, which occurred when his face got in the way but didn’t prevent Williams from soaring for a defensive rebound with about two minutes remaining before halftime.
“I was going for a rebound and bled a little bit, but I feel great,” Maye said.
In reality, Maye fell to the court. Just about the time a game official stopped play, blood could be seen spewing through Maye’s fingers as he covered his face.
Before the half ended, team trainer Doug Halverson had summoned Mark Maye, the
player’s father (and former North Carolina quarterback), from the stands.
At halftime, Williams said he
checked on Maye, who was receiving treatment.
Maye later said he was given a test for a potential concussion, but he cleared that.
When the Tar Heels returned to the court for halftime warmups, Maye wasn’t with the rest of the
players. He arrived back to the bench shortly after the second half began and checked into the game at the 16:26 mark.
Maye scored nine of his 11 points in the second half and matched his career high with five assists. However, he finished with a season-low four rebounds.
“I almost airballed my first shot (of the second half),” he said. “I wasn’t playing too well early (in the game), so I can’t really use it as an excuse.”
Williams said he was impressed with Maye’s performance, particularly encouraged to see how fired up his teammate became after blocking a back-to-back shots in the final minute with the Tar Heels holding a six-point lead.
“He wants to make plays to help the team win,” Williams said.
Maye reported no headaches after the game. He said he expected to be leaking some blood from the wound and receive additional treatment.