Tar Heels Foil Duke’s Comeback
Top 25
Jeff McInnis and Shammond Williams ran a two-man attack that repelled a Duke rally and gave No. 19 North Carolina an 84-78 victory on Sunday in Durham, N.C.
What was turning into a surprising victory for the Tar Heels (20-9, 10-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) became another bizarre chapter in the series between the two rivals separated by eight miles.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski pulled his starters with less than a minute to go and the Tar Heels in control 80-67. The reserves, whose primary mission was to foul and send North Carolina to the free throw line, staged their own rally, drawing Duke (18-11, 8-8) to 81-76 after Baker Perry hit a 3-pointer with 21 seconds to go.
McInnis got 20 of his 25 points in the second half. Seven of them came in succession as the Blue Devils were mounting a charge.
Serge Zwikker got 12 points and Antawn Jamison 11 for the Tar Heels. Jeff Capel led Duke with 20 points and Collins got 18 before he left.
(18) Ga. Tech 87, Clemson 74
In Atlanta, Matt Harpring scored 24 points and Stephon Marbury added 18 as the Yellow Jackets won their first outright regular-season Atlantic Coast Conference title with the win over the Tigers (17-9, 7-9).
The Yellow Jackets (20-10, 13-3), winners of 14 of 17 since a 6-7 start, also got 15 points and nine assists from Drew Barry and 12 points and 12 rebounds from Michael Maddox. Harpring added 10 rebounds.
Detroit 56, (22) Wis.-G.B. 50
At Dayton, Ohio, Iyapo Montgomery hit three 3-pointers in a closing 16-2 run that gave the Titans (18-10) the upset of the Phoenix in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament semifinals.
Wisconsin-Green Bay (25-3), which upset California in the 1994 NCAA tournament and lost by a point to Purdue in last year’s tournament, now has to hope for an at-large bid to make the NCAA field of 64 a third straight time.