Colleges

Tar Heels hand 'Noles ninth consecutive loss

By KEVIN BRADFORD
Published March 4, 2005

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - In the end, the ACC's worst was no match for the ACC's best.

After a sterling first half in which Florida State shot 60 percent and led 44-41, it reverted to its previous form Thursday, absorbing a 91-76 loss to No.2 North Carolina.

A 24-8 run midway through the second half doomed FSU, which made eight first-half 3-pointers. The Seminoles also had no answer for center Scott May, who scored 23 of his career-high 32 in the second half as North Carolina clinched a share of the ACC regular-season title.

The loss was the Seminoles' ninth in a row, their longest streak since 1984-85, and they will try to avoid finishing last in the conference when they host Virginia on Sunday.

The Seminoles can build on an outstanding first 20 minutes against the Tar Heels. Adam Waleskowski and Al Thornton made five of their six shots in scoring 13 and 11, respectively. Isaiah Swann added three 3-pointers, helping make up for Von Wafer, who was benched late and didn't return.

"Some other youngsters were playing well, and I thought they deserved to play," FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. "We've had more issues to deal with growing up and maturing than any team I've ever had."

The Tar Heels went ahead to stay 55-54 on a 3-pointer by Melvin Scott and gradually built a double-digit margin.

May was key, going 13-for-15 from the field and finishing with his seventh consecutive double double. That included hitting all 10 of his shots in the second half and scoring 12 during the decisive run that put the Tar Heels ahead 81-68 with about four minutes left.

May followed Scott's 3-pointer with a jumper and an alley-oop slam off a feed from Raymond Felton for a five-point edge. May then twice got loose inside off feeds from David Noel, who also assisted on a 3-pointer by Williams during the run.

"I thought we had a period there where we didn't manage the game to our liking," Hamilton said. "And they made us pay."

Thornton finished with 19 to lead FSU, which shot 36.7 percent in the second half and committed 10 of its 18 turnovers. "Florida State has a lot of talent, and when they get it rolling, they can be very good," said North Carolina coach Roy Williams, who broke his glasses while admonishing his team at halftime.

"They were that good in the first half. In the second half, we picked it up."

NO. 6 DUKE 83, MIAMI 59: J.J. Redick scored 29 for the host Blue Devils. Redick made his first two shots and scored 18 during the first half. His 3-pointer midway though the first half gave him nine points to the Hurricanes' eight, prompting fans to chant "J.J.'s winning!"

Early in the second half, Redick made two free throws and his fourth 3-pointer to give him 24 points, one fewer than Miami, which trailed by at least 10 for the final 341/2 minutes.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Dee Brown scored 24 of his career-high 27 in the first half and Derron Williams added 21 to lead top-ranked Illinois to an 84-50 victory over Purdue. The Illini improved to 29-0 and are one game, Sunday at Ohio State, from finishing the regular season unbeaten.

Brown missed his first shot but was almost unstoppable after that. He made consecutive 3-pointers to give the Illini a 9-4 lead. Two more 3-pointers made it 32-16, and two more at the end of the first half made it 50-26. Illinois had a 21-0 run in the second half.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Larry O'Bannon scored a career-high 33, 26 in the first half, and No.9 Louisville clinched a share of the regular-season title with a 94-82 victory over No.18 Charlotte.

O'Bannon tied a school record for points in a half by hitting his first five 3-pointers. One gave the Cardinals the lead for good at 27-25. He made 9 of 10 shots during the half and scored eight during a half-ending 16-4 run that put Louisville up 52-39.

The 49ers, whose seven-game win streak ended, did not make a move in the second half, going five minutes without a field goal during one stretch.

Charlotte made 13 3-pointers but shot 36 percent overall (24-of-66), its worst effort in four games.

UCF 81, MERCER 68: Joshua Peppers scored 16 for the Knights in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Sun tournament in Nashville. UCF, which led by as many as 24 in the first half, next faces Belmont.

FAMU 67, B-CC 65: Tony Tate's three-point play with 17 seconds left lifted the visiting Rattlers. Down 60-50 with 5:37 left, the Wildcats took a 65-64 lead on Antonio Webb's 3-pointer with 32 seconds left. But Tate drove the lane for a layup and was fouled.

Information from Times wires was used in this report.

[Last modified July 4, 2005, 08:33:18]