College basketball

ACC: UM earns first win at Chapel Hill

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Guillermo Diaz scored 24 - including a clutch 3-pointer late - to help Miami upset No. 20 North Carolina 81-70 on Saturday, giving the Hurricanes their first win in six tries in Chapel Hill.

Robert Hite also had 24 points for the Hurricanes, who beat the Tar Heels for just the second time.

Miami also recorded consecutive wins against ranked opponents for the first time, after an 84-70 win Jan. 7 against then-No. 14 Maryland.

Just beating the storied Tar Heels on the road - even if the team looks nothing like the one that won the national championship last year - was reason enough to celebrate.

"We've never had the experience of coming over here to a well-known team like North Carolina and beating them," Diaz said. "It's a big lift for us."

Miami started 4-3 without guard Anthony Harris, who was out with a broken right foot. But the Hurricanes have won six of nine since Harris returned, losing only to No. 2 Florida, No. 10 Louisville and No. 18 North Carolina State.

Against the Tar Heels, the 6-foot-2 junior scored 17. With UM down 62-59, Hite hit three free throws to tie it with 4:31 left. That started a 12-0 run.

NO. 1 DUKE 87, CLEMSON 77: J.J. Redick hit only two 3-pointers and missed four of his 16 free throws, but still finished with 34 points to lead the visiting Blue Devils to their 19th straight win over Clemson.

"A lot of people come in if they see us play, expect me to hit five or six 3s and be loud about it," Redick said. "But today we found an efficient way to get the job done."

Shelden Williams added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Duke (16-0), which is off to its best start since the 1992 NCAA champion opened 17-0.

The Blue Devils let an 11-point lead slip to 76-71 after Akin Akingbala's short jumper with 1:56 left. But Redick found Sean Dockery for a layup and Clemson could not get any closer.

NO. 18 N.C. STATE 87, GA. TECH 78: Six players scored in double figures, with none taking more than 10 shots or fewer than seven, as the host Wolfpack showed off the balance it has had all season.

Cameron Bennerman had 16 points. Engin Atsur, Tony Bethel, Cedric Simmons and reserve Andrew Brackman scored 14 and Ilian Evtimov added 13 for N.C. State, which has seven players averaging eight points or more.

After a 3-pointer from Lewis Clinch gave the Yellow Jackets their final lead at 61-60 with about eight minutes left, Simmons had a dunk and Atsur and Bethel hit 3-pointers on an 8-0 N.C. State run.

[Last modified January 15, 2006, 01:48:18]