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Virginia Falls To No. 4 North Carolina, 85-61
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Feb. 16, 2005
By KEITH PARSONS
AP Sports Writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – Rashad McCants had 23 points and Sean May added 17points and 16 rebounds, helping No. 4 North Carolina pull out an 85-61 victoryover Virginia on Wednesday night.
Jawad Williams scored 14 points for the Tar Heels (21-3, 9-2), who movedwithin one-half game of first-place Wake Forest in the Atlantic CoastConference. McCants had a season-high six assists as North Carolina won forseventh time in eight games.
With both teams celebrating “Throwback Night” – they donned retro uniformsbased on 1980s designs – the Cavaliers (13-10, 4-8) might have taken it a bittoo literally. They continued their slowdown tactics started earlier this monthby coach Pete Gillen, holding the ball on nearly every possession while theshot clock wound down.
It was a bit reminiscent of the 1982 ACC championship game, when the TarHeels beat the Cavaliers 47-45 after stalling for the final 7{ minutes. Thatgame – with players such as Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Ralph Sampson onthe court – is generally credited with forcing the eventual implementation ofthe shot clock.
The style certainly has worked for the embattled Gillen, who led Virginiaout of the conference cellar with three straight victories.
Against North Carolina, it ultimately failed. The Cavaliers shot only 39percent and had 17 turnovers, yet still stayed much closer than they did in anearlier matchup this season – the Tar Heels won that one 110-76, handingVirginia its third-worst home loss in school history.
Gary Forbes led the Cavaliers with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
North Carolina freshman Marvin Williams missed the game with a sprained lefttoe, the first time he’s sat out this season. As the sixth man for the TarHeels, he was averaging 11.2 points and 6.7 rebounds, but he was hardly missed.
After Virginia closed to 24-20 on two free throws by T.J. Bannister, NorthCarolina took control with a 15-2 run, led by 3-pointers by McCants and RaymondFelton. The margin eventually reached 19 before the Tar Heels falteredslightly, perhaps lulled to sleep by the pace of the game.
The Cavaliers cut the margin to 12 on Sean Singletary’s 3 before Mayconverted a nifty lob pass from Felton into an easy basket. Later, McCantscompleted an 11-4 spurt by swishing a jumper from beyond the arc, and the leadwas 65-44.