Heels outlast Clemson
Third-ranked North Carolina spent most of Sunday looking nothing like the team that had rolled to lots of easy victories or the tradition-rich program that has tormented Clemson here for so long.
Then everything changed, thanks to one frantic comeback and another iron-willed performance from All-American Tyler Hansbrough.
Hansbrough scored 13 of his 39 points in the first and second overtimes to help the Tar Heels rally from a 15-point deficit and beat Clemson 103-93 at Chapel Hill, N.C., keeping North Carolina perfect in 53 home games against the Tigers all-time.
Wayne Ellington added 28 points for the Tar Heels (22-2, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who set an NCAA record for the longest home winning streak against one opponent. The previous record was 52, set by Princeton against Brown from 1929-2002.
Yet for the Tar Heels, the streak wasn’t important. While Hansbrough noted that no one wanted to be on the team that ended it, North Carolina had bigger things to worry about: namely, bouncing back from an emotionally draining home loss to No. 2 Duke and proving to themselves they could win a tough game without injured point guard Ty Lawson.
They managed to do both, shaking off a disastrous start and erasing Clemson’s 11-point lead in the final 3 minutes of regulation.
“Fellas, it wasn’t looking good. We were looking at a 30-point butt-kicking there about 5 or 6 minutes into the game,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “If I live to be 106, I won’t be any more proud of a group of kids than I am of that bunch right there.”
In many ways, this was the antithesis of what happened in Wednesday’s 89-78 loss to the Blue Devils. With Lawson sitting out after spraining his left ankle against Florida State last weekend, the Tar Heels looked a step off all night while their offense degenerated into a Hansbrough-takes-on-all attack.
This time, he got help when the game hung in the balance.
The 6-foot-9 junior, who had 28 points and 18 rebounds against Duke, came up a point shy of matching his career-high. He went 11 for 16 from the field and 17 for 19 from the line to go with 13 rebounds. Throw in his 40-point day against Georgia Tech here as a freshman, and Hansbrough now owns the top two scoring performances in Smith Center history.
Ellington, who had 36 points and the last-second 3-pointer in the Tar Heels’ 90-88 overtime win at Clemson last month, hit five 3-pointers and came up with a tough driving shot past Raymond Sykes in the final minute of the second OT to help seal it.
Meanwhile, Danny Green finished with 14 points, including consecutive 3-pointers late in regulation.
Even Quentin Thomas, the one-time third-stringer pressed into duty with Lawson out, came up with some key plays late. The senior hit a driving shot to force the first overtime and two free throws to force the second, finishing with six points and a career-best nine assists.
(13) Xavier 76, Saint Joseph’s 72: At Cincinnati, Stanley Burrell scored 16 points and made a pair of clinching free throws with 13 seconds left, helping the Musketeers (20-4, 8-1) hold on for a victory over the Hawks (15-7, 6-3) in a matchup of the Atlantic 10’s top two teams.
Xavier solidified its hold on first place with its 12th victory in the last 13 games. This one wasn’t easy – the Musketeers blew a 14-point lead and had to rally in the closing minutes. They scored the last eight points to pull it off.
Rob Ferguson scored 18 for Saint Joseph’s, who had a turnover and missed a pair of shots in the final 20 seconds.
(14) Indiana 59, Ohio St. 53: At Columbus, Ohio, D.J. White and Eric Gordon finally got Indiana a signature win.
White scored 21 points and had 13 rebounds and Gordon hit a number of big shots to lead the Hoosiers (20-3, 9-1 Big Ten) past the Buckeyes (16-8, 7-4).
It was the first red-letter win for Indiana – much maligned for its light schedule – against a team higher than No. 49 in the RPI ratings. Ohio State came in at No. 32.
Gordon finished with 15 points, hitting four free throws in the final minute to keep Ohio State at bay.
Kosta Koufos had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes and Jon Diebler added 14 points.