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Cavs Hold On Against No. 21 North Carolina, 87-85
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Jan. 18, 2000
By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Chris Williams scored six straight points duringa go-ahead 13-4 second-half run Tuesday night and Donald Hand got hot when itcounted as Virginia held off No. 21 North Carolina 87-85.
The victory was the 300th of Pete Gillen’s coaching career, and came withthe Cavaliers (12-5, 3-2 ACC) playing the ball-hawking, up-tempo style hefavors.
North Carolina (11-7, 2-2) was forced into 21 turnovers that led to 29points for the Cavaliers, dooming the Tar Heels into their third consecutiveloss.
The end didn’t come easily as North Carolina rode freshman Joseph Forte’slong-range shooting to get back within 81-80 with 1:15 to play. Hand, whomissed his first 10 shots, converted a three-point play with 42.2 seconds leftand added two more free throws with 28 seconds to play as the Cavaliers ended asix-game losing streak against the Tar Heels.
The end of the game also was delayed when Virginia fans poured onto thecourt with three-tenths of a second left as balloons were released from therafters. The court was cleared and the game ended with fans surrounding thecourt.
Williams led Virginia with 24 points, including six straight when theCavaliers turned a 53-50 deficit into a 56-55 lead. Travis Watson added 17points, Adam Hall had 14 and Hand finished with 12, all coming in the final7:15.
The Tar Heels led 43-38 at halftime, getting the lead by scoring the finalseven points. Earlier, North Carolina had runs of 10-0 and 11-0, but never ledby more than eight because Virginia countered with 17-4 and 8-0 runs.
North Carolina also outrebounded the Cavaliers 23-14 in the opening 20minutes and shot 62 percent to Virginia’s 43 percent. But the home team made upfor it by forcing 12 turnovers and outscoring the Tar Heels 16-4 off miscues.