Colleges

Old-timer's day for UNC

Youngsters give Tar Heels a lead. Senior makes sure they keep it.

By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published March 12, 2007

Florida's Joakim Noah celebrates after the Gators routed Arkansas in the SEC championship game. Photo gallery Download brackets: Men's (PDF) Women's (PDF) This call is easy: UF No. 1 Gary Shelton: Bigger nets than this for UNC to cut Florida, Ohio St., KU, UNC get top seeds Gators take third SEC title
	[Times photo: James Borchuck]

TAMPA - North Carolina senior forward Reyshawn Terry is a starter and the last main link to the 2005 national championship team. But on a team of standout underclassmen, he's more a supporting actor than a headliner.

And for a good chunk of the second half of Sunday's ACC tournament finale against N.C. State, Terry wasn't even on stage, relegated to the bench and coach Roy Williams' doghouse.

Until the Heels needed him the most. Then he was impossible to miss.

Terry scored eight straight points in an 83-second stretch that helped the top-seeded Tar Heels hold off the surprising No. 10-seeded Wolfpack 89-80 and claim their 16th ACC tournament title and first since 1998.

"It's another achievement and accomplishment for me, my team, my coaching staff," Terry said. "For Coach Williams, he hasn't won this since he's been here. So it's another jewel to go in his jewelry box."

As unlikely as it seemed during the second half, when Carolina 28-6 built a 16-point lead behind the play of MVP Brandan Wright, Terry contributed a few gems once he got another chance.

"I was on his case in the second half and let him sit there for a long time," Williams said, adding he believed Terry was in a fog.

He had fouled a jump shooter, missed a couple of boxouts on the boards and loafed back on defense.

"Coach just said he would like to see me play," Terry said. "He's always been on me, pushing me to the limit, trying to push me to be the best player that I can possibly be. He never gave up on me, and he gave me another chance like he always does."

He made the most of it.

The Wolfpack (18-15), which split two regular-season games with the Heels, had cut the deficit to 70-69 with 5:02 left when Terry hit a jumper. Then came a reverse layup on which he drew a foul and completed the three-point play. Moments later, he hit a 3-pointer that knocked the Wolfpack back and brought the partisan UNC crowd in a packed St. Pete Times Forum to a fevered pitch.

"Engin (Atsur) was all over him," N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe said of the 3-pointer. "There's nothing you can do about that when a guy makes a shot like that. That's what good players do. They make big shots, and that's how teams win games."

That's exactly redshirt Brandon Costner, Courtney Fells, Gavin Grant and Ben McCauley, had been doing during a run reminiscent of N.C. State's national title in 1983.

"I told our guys, 'You can be hurt, but don't be disappointed because there's nothing to be disappointed about,' " Lowe said.

N.C. State stayed close and tried to make history with a fourth win in four days. But the Tar Heels sealed the win by hitting 9 of 10 free throws, including two by Terry to give him 13 points and two by Tyler Hansbrough to make him 11 of 11 even with the protective mask.

Freshman point guard Ty Lawson punctuated the championship with a breakaway dunk in the final second.

"This feels pretty good. There's no question about that," Williams said. "I couldn't be more proud of the kids that I have and what they've done."

Especially his lone senior starter.

"He's been with me since I got here, and I've pushed him probably as hard as any player I've coached," he said of Terry. "He's just a phenomenal youngster who I'll keep giving chances to, and I just love him to death."

Brian Landman can be reached at landman@sptimes.com or (813) 226-3347.

FG FT Reb

N.C. STATE Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Grant 32 3-6 4-5 1-4 1 4 10

Costner 38 10-20 5-7 0-3 0 3 28

McCauley 35 6-10 0-0 4-7 1 4 12

Fells 36 5-9 6-6 1-6 3 3 18

Atsur 32 1-3 0-0 1-1 5 1 3

Nieman 13 0-1 0-0 1-1 1 2 0

Horner 14 4-4 1-1 0-0 0 1 9

Totals 200 29-53 16-19 8-24 11 18 80

Percentages: FG .547, FT .842. 3-Point Goals: 6-14, .429 (Costner 3-5, Fells 2-5, Atsur 1-2, Nieman 0-1, Grant 0-1). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 1 (Costner). Turnovers: 15 (Grant 7, Costner 4, Atsur 3, McCauley). Steals: 5 (Costner 2, Atsur, Fells, McCauley). Technical Fouls: None.

FG FT Reb

N. CAROLINA Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Terry 24 4-7 3-3 2-4 3 3 13

Wright 31 7-11 2-2 0-4 0 1 16

Hansbrough 29 2-6 11-11 0-3 1 4 15

Ellington 28 6-8 2-2 1-3 1 1 16

Lawson 30 5-10 3-4 1-4 4 2 13

Ginyard 13 0-3 2-2 1-1 0 2 2

Frasor 10 0-0 0-0 0-2 2 0 0

Green 13 2-3 0-0 0-0 1 3 4

Thompson 14 2-2 0-0 0-2 0 1 4

Miller 4 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 6

Stepheson 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 200 30-52 23-24 6-24 12 19 89

Percentages: FG .577, FT .958. 3-Point Goals: 6-10, .600 (Miller 2-2, Terry 2-3, Ellington 2-3, Ginyard 0-1, Lawson 0-1). Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 1 (Wright). Turnovers: 10 (Hansbrough 3, Terry 2, Frasor 2, Ellington, Lawson, Thompson). Steals: 9 (Hansbrough 4, Terry, Ellington, Thompson, Lawson, Green). Technical Fouls: None.

N.C. State 34 46 - 80

North Carolina 42 47 - 89

A-22,269. Officials-Karl Hess, Bryan Kersey, Gary Maxwell.

UNC 89, N.C. State 80

[Last modified March 12, 2007, 00:49:43]