Deacons handle Heels

Teague scores career-high 34 points; UNC falls to 0-2 in ACC

WINSTON-SALEM -- Was it only eight days ago that fans were talking about the possibility of North Carolina going undefeated? About how its starting point guard was playing the best basketball of his career? About where this the team might end up ranking among the school's all-time best?

Now, Wake Forest faithful might start pondering the same things about their squad.

Led by 34 point from their star ballhandler, Jeff Teague, the fourth-ranked Demon Deacons out-shot, out-paced and downright outplayed No. 3 UNC, winning 92-89 on Sunday at Joel Coliseum.

The Demon Deacons (14-0, 1-0 ACC) remained one of three undefeated teams in the country. Carolina (14-2, 0-2), which snapped a 15-game road winning streak, hasn't lost its first two league games since1996-97; that team began conference play 0-3 before advancing to the Final Four.

But this current Tar Heel team looks far from that right now.

"Sometimes we go out there and just expect to win instead of realizing that nobody's going to roll over for us; we've got a target on our back,'' said shooting guard Wayne Ellington. "I feel like we've got to get a little more hungry - we've got to want it more, we've got to go take it instead of thinking that somebody's going to just give it to us."

The only thing Wake "gave" the Tar Heels on Sunday was 11 missed free throws and a 14-rebound advantage.

And a lot of headaches.

With the team's best wing defender, Marcus Ginyard, sitting on the bench trying to rest a lingering foot injury, Teague (9-for-17, six rebounds, four assists, three turnovers) took advantage of everyone who tried to guard him -- including Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Bobby Frasor and Larry Drew II. It marked the ACC leading scorer's second straight game with 30 points or more.

"I told Jeff Teague -- and I mean it -- that that was as good a performance in a long time against a team I'm coaching,'' UNC coach Roy Williams said. "I thought he was sensational."

Meanwhile, Lawson (9 points, 5 assists, 4 turnovers) got outplayed for his second consecutive league game. UNC forward Deon Thompson (eight points) struggled again. And All America Tyler Hansbrough (17 points, 11 rebounds), who was harassed by an array of Deacons 6-feet-9 or taller, got out-scored by Chas McFarland (20 points).

"They swarmed me, they played physical...but that's the way the game's played sometimes,'' Hansbrough said.. "...I just try to play my game."

Problem is, the Tar Heels struggled to play their game from the outset, making up a nine -point first-half deficit to tie the game 44-44 at halftime, but never taking control in the second period.

The final time UNC led was at the 17:55 mark, when Thompson made a free throw.

Three Ellington free throws with 1:16 left put the Heels back into contention, cutting Wake's lead to 87-83. But Teague hit five free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

"I thought our defense in the second half did a great job of getting back and keeping them from transitioning,'' said Wake coach Dino Gaudio, whose team held UNC to four fast break points for the game. " "We've thought a lot this season about getting our defense to where it needs to be."

In all, four Tar Heel starters -- Ellington, Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough and Deon Thompson -- made only 14 of their combined 50 shots. Danny Green, who led the team with 22 points, was 6-for-9.

Still, the most surprising stat for the Tar Heels after the game was its conference record.

"It is what it is,'' Williams said. "We're 0-2 and we have to try to play better and be more effective. I told the kids that during Tyler, Bobby and Danny's freshman year, we were 3-3 at one time and ened up 12-4. It is a long season. I'm still looking at the big picture and know that we can get a lot better."