CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A teammate tossed a towel over Jae-Lyn Withers' head as he walked through the postgame handshake line wiping away tears. It was a small gesture meant to shield the North Carolina veteran from additional scrutiny after his lane violation with 4.1 seconds to play erased a made free throw that would have tied the score, sending the Tar Heels to a third loss to Duke this season, 74-71 on Friday, and, perhaps, sealing their fate on the outside of the NCAA tournament bubble.

Withers was part of a frenetic comeback attempt in the ACC tournament semifinal by the Heels, who trailed by 21 points at halftime and as many as 24 in the second half, only to utterly flummox Duke -- which was playing without the injured Cooper Flagg -- down the stretch, trimming their deficit to one as Ven-Allen Lubin stepped to the free throw line with just seconds remaining.

Lubin, who finished with a game-high 20 points, missed the front end but drained the second to tie the score at 71. Officials waved off the bucket, however, whistling Withers for the lane violation and giving the ball back to Duke with a one-point lead. Kon Knueppel connected on two free throws at the other end, and RJ Davis missed a last-gasp 3 to seal UNC's fate.

"It was a lot more to blame than a lane violation," Lubin said afterward. "We made a ton of mistakes throughout the game. We were in that position trying to dig ourselves out of it and come out with a win or get to overtime."

This was the prevailing mantra in the aftermath of an emotional loss for the Tar Heels: They had done enough to lose long before that violation, and yet this was still a team more than deserving of a spot in the field of 68.

Playing without Flagg, Duke's big men -- Khaman Maluach and Patrick Ngongba II most prominently -- proved a frustrating obstacle in the early going, as UNC managed just 24 first-half points and went into the locker room after a 15-0 Blue Devils run.

Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis used the break to remind his team of the numerous other games in which it fell behind big early only to surge back in the second half. It's a lesson that proved valuable for Friday's performance but also one that underscored the biggest issues UNC faces as it waits for the committee to evaluate a résumé that features too few big wins and too many frustrating losses in the first half of the season.

"I think we've shown the last couple of weeks that we're a tournament team," RJ Davis said of the Heels, who are 9-3 since a blowout loss to Duke on Feb. 1. "Look at the trajectory of our whole season, the way we dealt with adversity and our perseverance -- especially these last couple weeks. You couldn't ask for a better team that goes through all that adversity and criticism and still perseveres. I think that's a tournament team for you right there. That's what March is all about."

Hubert Davis refused to respond to questions about the lane violation or UNC's spot on the tournament bubble, noting his team has lived on the bubble for weeks and has largely played its best ball in those situations.

"For our guys to stay focused on what is real, continue to prepare, practice and play; whomever we're playing, keep our eyes focused on the competition right in front of us and be the best that we can be," he said. "And for a month and a half, we basically played must-win games. In that situation, our team played the best."

The near-collapse by Duke was, according to coach Jon Scheyer, a learning opportunity ahead of what the Blue Devils hope will be a deep NCAA tournament run. But in the moment, it felt like little more than utter chaos.

"It was a blur," he said.

Withers' bucket with 16:02 left in the second half stopped the bleeding for UNC, which had trailed by 24 points. The Heels cut the lead to 13 at the under-12-minute timeout and six at the under-four.

Seth Trimble drilled two free throws with 32 seconds to play to pull UNC to within a point. Duke missed a free throw on the other end before Maluach was whistled for his fifth foul, putting Lubin at the line with a chance at the lead. The lane violation on Withers followed, seeming to take all the air out of UNC's comeback attempt.

"I'm not sure that's happened before," Scheyer said. "In that setting, in that situation. But for our team, every week, we've watched different game situations throughout the year, so we've seen a lot of stuff as a team."

Duke advances to the ACC tournament final against Louisville. Flagg will remain sidelined because of an ankle injury.

UNC will wait and wonder whether its most exhilarating performance of the season also will be the one that ended its hopes for a tournament bid.

"We really had that game," Trimble said. "I think we're an overtime session away from winning that game. But I'm not bashing [Withers]. We do any other things different, and it's a different game."