Brice Johnson records his first 30-20 game in North Carolina win

North Carolina has been an offensive juggernaut all season with forward Brice Johnson serving as the lead contributor, but Monday night during an impressive ACC road win over Florida State, Johnson took things to another level and accomplished something only a handful of other players have in the illustrious history of Tar Heels basketball.

Johnson scored 39 points and grabbed 23 rebounds to become the first player at North Carolina to record a 30-point, 20-rebound game since Mitch Kupchak did so on Valentine’s Day 1976 in four overtimes against Tulane. Johnson simply needed  37 minutes of playing time Monday as the sixth-ranked Tar Heels won 106-90. Both the scoring and rebounding totals were career bests for the senior from Orangeburg, S.C.

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It was the first time a UNC player registered at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a game since Tyler Zeller did so against Ohio in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Just last week, Johnson was held to three points on 1-for-8 shooting against Clemson, but he was playing at or near his full potential against the Seminoles, dominating things around the basket all night contributing three steals and three blocks to his historic stat line.

Johnson didn’t score his first field goal until more than seven minutes into the game when he completed an alley-oop, finishing a possession in which the Tar Heels moved the ball down court and scored without a single dribble.

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North Carolina needed more than Johnson’s standout performance to get by the pesky Seminoles and Marcus Paige backed him up with 30 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Florida State enjoyed one of its best 3-point shooting nights of the season, making 10 of 20 from behind the arc, but the Seminoles couldn’t get enough stops defensively to give themselves a chance at an upset late. Johnson and Paige overshadowed a stellar performance from FSU sophomore guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who finished with 30 points, making 50 percent of his shots and seven of nine 3-pointers.

Johnson went to the foul line more Monday than he had in the previous four games combined. He made 11 of 16 free throws, which helped him to a career night.

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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo