UNC rallies for win

CHAPEL HILL -- Senior Deon Thompson excitedly clapped his hands in tune with the Carolina fight song as he prepared to be interviewed late Tuesday night. This might be the NIT, but North Carolina, playing at historic Carmichael Arena, didn't play like it was second best.

Spurred by a raucous crowd, the fourth-seeded Tar Heels beat No. 5 seed William & Mary 80-72 to advance to the second round. They will play at top-seeded Mississippi State on Saturday at noon.

It marked the first time the Tar Heels (17-16) have scored 80 points in a game since December.

It also marked the most fun last year's NCAA champions have had in quite a while, Thompson said.

"I played in a lot of games wearing this North Carolina jersey," said Thompson, who led the Tar Heels with 20 points. "I played in a couple of Final Fours, but being out there on that floor tonight with those fans, with the history that's happened in this Auditorium, is something I'll always remember."

UNC, which hasn't played at Carmichael since 1986, led 43-33 at halftime. But William & Mary - which had rallied from double-digit second-half deficits in four previous games this season - took a 72-69 lead with 5:09 left on a David Schneider 3-pointer. The Tribe, however, missed it's last six from behind the arc, while the Tar Heels made nine free throws - and got a key steal-and-dunk from Tyler Zeller with 48.9 seconds left - to end the game on an 11-0 run.

"They run the same kind of things over and over, and they're tough to guard, but at the same time, they gave me an opening and I got it," said Zeller, who finished with 13 points. "It actually got so loud that I thought they blew a whistle for a second - that, and there was nobody around me."

Despite a frustrating season, Carolina's players said they wanted to play in the NIT to try to end the year on a high note. And it was an exciting atmosphere from the outset. After the national anthem, junior Will Graves bumped chests with Rameses, the mascot. Taking the court, senior Marcus Ginyard wore a wide grin.

Up 7-0, Thompson stood near mid-court, raising his hands and spurring on the sellout crowd - which began a deafening chant of "Tar! Heels!" Then he scored a bucket in the paint to give the Tar Heels a 9-0 lead, their best start in recent memory.

The Tribe - playing without starting forward Quinn McDowell, one of their best 3-point shooters - finally made its first field goal with 17:58 left, on a Danny Sumner 3-pointer. Then it hit three of its next four attempts to take a 12-11 lead. But after a 4-for-6 start from behind the arc, William and Mary missed its next 11 3-point attempts.

UNC got one particular scare during that run when, with 7:32 left, Ginyard and freshman Travis Wear bumped heads, leaving Wear with a bloody cut above his right eye, and Ginyard sitting on the court, woozily holding his head. Wear went to the locker room to get four stitches, but Ginyard returned to help his team shoot 53.1 percent in the first half, and take a 10-point lead at the break.

"We're very excited to still be playing," said UNC coach Roy Williams, whose Tar Heels avoided only their second losing season in 48 years.

UNC 80, William & Mary 72

Percentages: FG .419, FT 1.000. 3-point goals: 16-43, .372 (Schneider 7-15, Ludwick 5-12, Sumner 3-9, Gaillard 1-2, Brown 0-1, Rum 0-2, McCurdy 0-2). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 1 (Hess). Turnovers: 17 (Hess 5, Sumner 4, Schneider 2, Ludwick 2, Kitts 2, Gaillard, McCurdy). Steals: 6 (McCurdy 2, Hess 2, Schneider, Brown). Technical fouls: none.

Percentages: FG .491, FT .692. 3-point goals: 6-17, .353 (Drew II 2-4, Ginyard 2-5, McDonald 1-2, Graves 1-5, Strickland 0-1). Team rebounds: 0. Blocked shots: 4 (Henson 2, Strickland, Thompson). Turnovers: 11 (Ginyard 3, Graves 2, Drew II 2, Henson 2, Zeller, Strickland). Steals: 11 (Ginyard 5, Thompson 2, Zeller 2, Henson, McDonald). Technical fouls: none.

Att.-6,822. Officials-Karl Hess, Brian O'Connell, Wally Rutecki.