Heels get some relief

CHAPEL HILL -- With roughly 200 former lettermen in the stands, rival N.C. State in town and last place in the ACC standings on the line, North Carolina probably hadn't felt more pressure to win than Saturday.

Or more relief once it did.

Led by an aggressive effort by point guard Larry Drew II and a solid first start by forward John Henson, the Tar Heels swept N.C. State with a 74-61 win at the Smith Center, finally giving them a bright spot in what has been an otherwise desolate conference season.

"Every game we play, we want to play well," said UNC forward Deon Thompson, who posted 12 points and seven rebounds. "But when you have all the Carolina greats here and they're sitting up there and we're going to be here until 10:30 tonight, I don't think we want to walk around with a loss over our heads."

State (14-12, 2-9 ACC), meanwhile, has now lost four in a row overall and eight straight to the Tar Heels (14-11, 3-7) - and knows it missed a prime opportunity.

"This year, I don't think they're as strong as they've been the past couple of years," said forward Tracy Smith, who led the Wolfpack with 20 points. "This was our time to hit them, and we didn't capitalize."

Saturday marked the first time in recent rivalry memory that both teams entered the showdown with such dismal ACC records. It showed, as both squads went almost five minutes without a field goal in separate spurts; UNC shot only 37.5 percent in the second half; and the Tar Heels - even without starting forward Ed Davis, plus backups Tyler Zeller and Travis Wear - still managed to outrebound the Wolfpack by 12.

"I'm not sure when this program is ever really down," said Sidney Lowe, now 1-8 against UNC as State's head coach. "They might be struggling a little bit ... but there's a lot of pride here, a lot of tradition."

It showed most down the stretch.

With 6:18 left, State cut its 10-point deficit to 56-52 when Richard Howell scored. But Carolina countered with a three-point play by Henson (who made his first start of the season, at power forward, and finished with nine points and eight rebounds) then a 3-pointer by Drew (15 points, seven assists), to push its lead back to double figures.

Two more field goals by Drew - who has now recorded 33 points, 14 assists and only three turnovers in two games against State this season - helped halt any attempt at a Wolfpack comeback.

"I guess I'm like a bull," Drew said. "When I see red, I charge."

The victory earned an ovation from the alums in the stands, who were in town to celebrate the 100th season of Carolina basketball. Before the current Tar Heels left the court, they stopped, pointed, and cheered their predecessors, too.

"I didn't feel like it would be a great weekend if we didn't do our part," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "I don't think it made me coach any differently or anything like that. ... I did emphasize for it to be the absolutely fantastic weekend we want, we've got to play."

North Carolina 74, N.C. State 61

Percentages: FG .411, FT .588. Three-point goals: 5-18, .278 (Gonzalez 3-6, Williams 1-1, Wood 1-7, Mays 0-1, Degand 0-1, Horner 0-2). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 5 (Horner, T.Smith, Wood, Painter, Howell). Turnovers: 12 (Gonzalez 6, Degand 2, Horner, Davis, T.Smith, Wood). Steals: 5 (Degand, Horner, Howell, Mays, T.Smith). Technical Fouls: None.

Percentages: FG .417, FT .655. Three-point goals: 5-15, .333 (Drew II 2-3, D.Wear 1-2, McDonald 1-3, Graves 1-3, Henson 0-1, Strickland 0-1, Ginyard 0-2). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 6 (Henson 3, Thompson 3). Turnovers: 10 (Ginyard 3, Drew II 2, D.Wear 2, Strickland 2, Henson). Steals: 10 (Henson 3, Graves 2, Thompson 2, Drew II 2, Ginyard). Technical Fouls: None.

Att.-19,786. Officials-Mike Eades, Mike Stuart, Tim Nestor.