GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Miami senior Reggie Johnson sat in a corner of the locker room hugging the Atlantic Coast Conference championship trophy Sunday afternoon.

"This year, we found ways to win those close games," Johnson said. "That shows signs of a champion."

That's exactly what the ninth-ranked Hurricanes became by winning the conference tournament, pulling ahead of North Carolina in the waning moments for an 81-71 victory at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Shane Larkin, the tournament's Most Valuable Player, scored 28 points as regular-season titlist Miami completed an ACC sweep by prevailing in a 3-point shootout with third-seeded North Carolina.

Miami won in its first appearance in the ACC tournament title game against one of the country's traditional powers.

"What we're trying to do is emulate them," Miami coach Jim Larranaga said of Duke and North Carolina. "They're the teams that are role models for teams in the country."

Trey McKinney Jones poured in 20 points for Miami, which made 12 of 22 shots from 3-point range. Rion Brown had 12 points and Julian Gamble, in more close-to-the-basket fashion, scored nine of his 11 points in the second half.

Miami (27-6), which is a candidate for a No. 1 regional seed in the NCAA Tournament, finally broke ahead in the final minutes in front of an overwhelmingly pro-Tar Heels crowd.

"This gives us momentum," Larkin said. "A lot of people said we peaked too early. We stayed together and believed in ourselves and we came out here and got three wins in a row against three very tough teams."

P.J. Hairston, who was 6 of 13 on 3-point attempts, scored 28 points for North Carolina. The Tar Heels had 13 3-point baskets on 29 attempts.

"The only thing that separated us was that they made shots the last five minutes," North Carolina guard Marcus Paige said. "We didn't."

The game featured 15 lead changes and 10 ties.

North Carolina (24-10), aiming for its first ACC tournament crown since 2008 and its 18th overall, led 65-61 before the Hurricanes rattled off an 11-2 run. During that stretch, Hairston picked up his fourth foul with 5:26 to play.

"You get right here and you'd like to be rewarded," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said of his team, which began the conference season with an 0-2 record. "It's anybody's ballgame with five minutes to play."

Paige tallied 17 points, James Michael McAdoo added 12 and Reggie Bullock had 11 for North Carolina.

McKinney Jones hit three 3-pointers in each half, an example of the scoring depth available to the Hurricanes.

"I've never seen a team like that," North Carolina guard Dexter Strickland said. "We were knocking down shots and they were knocking down shots."

The Tar Heels went 4-for-4 on 3s to start the second half, giving them 12 for the game with 15 1/2 minutes to play.

"Carolina was unbelievable in the first half and maybe even more unbelievable in the first 10 or 12 minutes of the second half," Larranaga said.

Hairston, his left hand bandaged from a cut sustained Friday night, drained 3-pointers on three consecutive first-half possessions. Miami nearly matched those with three jumpers, two from 3-point range.