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College basketball
March 15, 2003
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Jawad Williams scored a career-high 25, Raymond Felton had 20 points and 10 rebounds and Melvin Scott added a career-high 19 points Friday as North Carolina bounced No. 14 Maryland out of the ACC tournament with an 84-72 victory.
It was another ACC tournament failure for the second-seeded Terrapins (19-9). The defending national champions have been to the tournament semifinals the past eight years, but haven't won a title since 1984.
The seventh-seeded Tar Heels (17-14) are rolling at the right time and in the right building. They improved to 31-10 at the Greensboro Coliseum, where they have won seven ACC tournament titles.
The victory over Maryland avenged one of the lowest moments in Carolina history. The Terrapins beat the Tar Heels 96-56 on Feb. 22 in the worst ACC defeat in school history.
"We were embarrassed the last time we played them," forward David Noel said. "When you get beat by 40, you don't want to see anybody on campus the next day.
"That was the low point of the season. This is the high point. It doesn't get any better."
North Carolina, which trailed almost the entire first half, came out swinging in the second half.
Playing without Jackie Manuel, their best defender who went out four minutes into the game with a strained right arch, the Tar Heels were able to stifle Drew Nicholas while opening up their offense.
Nicholas, who had 15 points at halftime on 6-of-10 shooting, couldn't shake Scott in the second half. He didn't score for almost 10 minutes while Maryland fell apart with turnovers, sloppy passes and poor shooting.
NO. 12 DUKE 83, VIRGINIA 76: Daniel Ewing scored a career-high 32 as the Blue Devils extended their record tournament winning streak to 13.
The victory by third-seeded Duke (22-6) resulted in a semifinals with only North Carolina teams for the first since 1963 and only the fourth time in the 50-year history of the ACC postseason.
Ewing was 11-for-16 from the field, including five 3-pointers, and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line to best the 19 he scored against Georgetown on Jan. 8.
Dahntay Jones hit a pair of clutch 3-pointers in a span of 47 seconds down the stretch to seal it for the Blue Devils, who last lost in the ACC tournament to North Carolina in the 1998 title game.
Meanwhile, Virginia (15-15) lost its 13th straight postseason game, including a 0-8 record under coach Pete Gillen.
N.C. ST. 71, GA. TECH 65: Josh Powell had 18 points, and Scooter Sherrill and Marcus Melvin added 15 each for the Wolfpack, which helped its NCAA hopes.
Herb Sendek improved to 6-1 in opening games as the fourth-seeded Wolfpack (17-11) advanced to the semifinals for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
The fifth-seeded Yellow Jackets (14-14) dropped six of eight since a 90-84 upset of Maryland on Feb. 9. Chris Bosh led the way with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Wolfpack broke out of a monthlong shooting slump beyond the arc, making 11-of-21 while shooting 50 percent from the field.