Remember all those late-game wins North Carolina used to pull off? That 78-76 loss to No. 22 Texas was one the Tar Heels should have won. While Texas was the aggressor at the beginning, the Heels settled down and looked like the better team until the last five minutes.

If nothing else, this game shows how valuable Tyler Zeller is to UNC. He probably stayed out too long after getting his fourth foul with just over six minutes to go. While he was out, over three and a half minutes, the Heels went from six up to one down.

As soon as he came back in, Zeller hit two key shots to put the Heels back up 73-70.

While Zeller’s absence was a key, the tide may have turned when Carolina botched a three-on-one fastbreak opportunity, up by five with five minutes left. Larry Drew II tried a bounce pass to John Henson but Henson and Dexter Strickland were too jammed up together and the ball went off Strickland’s foot and out of bounds.

Carolina led by seven at 67-60 with less than six minutes to play but were outscored 18-9 down the stretch.

“We’re a very ticked off team right now because we had our chances,” UNC coach Roy Williams said.

For more on the game itself, please click here.

NC State’s Ryan Harrow was selected as the ACC Rookie of the Week following his outstanding performance this past week.

In State’s only game this past week, Harrow came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points in Saturday’s 79-60 win over visiting USC Upstate. The Marietta, Ga., freshman hit on 10-of-13 from the floor, handed out five assists without a turnover, and had three steals in his 25 minutes of playing time.

Harrow has scored in double figures four times this season and is currently third on the team in scoring, averaging 10.8 points per game.

One thing that struck me during North Carolina’s 96-91 victory over Long Beach State had nothing to do with basketball.

Last year, during the Michigan State game, the home crowd booed when UNC quarterback T.J. Yates appeared on the big screens. During the Long Beach State game, Yates was introduced as one of the captains accepting an invitation to the Music City Bowl. The ovation, with most people standing, was almost deafening, especially considering that the Smith Center was only two-thirds full.

The other thing that stood out was Carolina guard play. The starting guards committed only three turnovers while dishing out 11 assists. Dexter Strickland had three assists and 13 points while Larry Drew had eight assists and 13 points. The bulk of Carolina’s scoring has come from its big men this season.

“I always want to stay aggressive and look for my shot,” Drew said. “Coming into the second half, I think I had only scored two points, but we were up 14. They started making a run, and it didn’t really seem like our inside game was where it has been in the last couple of games. We were trying to get the ball into Z (Tyler Zeller) and Justin Knox, but they were doubling down, so I just took it upon myself just to try to be more aggressive.”

Backup shooting guard Reggie Bullock scored eight points while backup point guard Kendall Marshall had five points and three assists. The more veteran starters are holding on to their playing time as Drew and Strickland combined for 55 minutes while Bullock and Marshall combined for 20.

For more on the game itself, please click here.

Behind senior quarterback Vad Lee, a Georgia Tech recruit, Durham Hillside has completed a perfect 16-0 season with a 40-0 drubbing of Davie County.

Lee threw for three touchdowns today in the Class 4-A finals in Winston-Salem. Lee threw for 3,000 yards and 26 touchdowns on the season while rushing for more than 1,000 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Meanwhile Wake Forest-Rolesville didn’t fare as well as the Cougars were demolished by defending state 4-AA champion Charlotte Butler 44-0 at rainy Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh.

Butler’s Jahwan Edwards rushed for 170 yards and three touchdowns.

The North Carolina Tar Heels saw their season come to an end Friday night in Santa Barbara, Calif. in heartbreaking fashion as Louisville’s Aaron Horton found the back of the net with only 51 seconds remaining to give the No. 1 Cardinals (20-0-3) the 2-1 NCAA Semifinal win. The Tar Heels fall to 16-4-4 to conclude the year.

Louisville’s Ryan Smith appeared to be in position to put a shot on net but instead of shooting he dropped a ball to Horton who chipped a ball over a diving Scott Goodwin and into the net with only 51 seconds remaining on the clock.

The Tar Heels were unable to get a shot on goal in the final seconds and saw their season come to an end at the College Cup for the third consecutive season.

The Cardinals outshot Carolina 11-9 in the game, marking just the second time all year the Tar Heels came up on the short end. The two goals marks the third time Carolina has allowed more than one goal in a game, all Tar Heel losses.

Carolina finishes the year 16-4-4 on the year, while Louisville improves to 20-0-3 and advances to Sunday’s national championship contest.

During North Carolina’s 76-49 victory last night, Carolina looked fluid on offense and active on defense. But you have to remember that it was only Evansville (Ind.), which was picked to finish 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference.

This could have been one of those trap games you hear about. Evansville isn’t expected to do well this year but they have some shooters (who were off) and they were playing their last game in their old stadium. Tyler Zeller, from nearby Washington, Ind., could have had trouble. Sometimes players in their homecoming games are anxious or nervous. But Zeller played well throughout despite getting a pair of fouls on him in less than a minute in the second half.

In fact, considering that Carolina scored 46 points in the first half when Zeller was playing and only 30 in the second half when he sat out a bit, the blowout could have been worse. Zeller only played 26 minutes but that was still the second most minutes among UNC players. Harrison Barnes, who is still struggling evidenced by his three of 11 shooting performance, saw the most minutes with 32.

Justin Knox came off the bench to have a really nice game as he went four of five from the field and five of six from the line for 13 points. He also hauled in five rebounds in 24 minutes of play. The Heels host Long Beach State Saturday night.

For more on the game itself, please click here.

Wake Forest-Rolesville, who handled Panther Creek in the semi-finals, plays Charlotte Butler for the State 4-AA NCHSAA football title Saturday at 11 a.m. at Carter-Finley Stadium.

With a victory, the Cougars would be the first team from Wake County to win a state championship in 12 years. High school sports experts discuss WF-Rolesville and more in the Outer Loop Sports Show below. Also, Durham Hillside is going for the 4-A championship Saturday morning in Winston-Salem.

Outer Loop Sports Show: December 8, 2010 from Outer Loop Sports Show on Vimeo.

ACC RELEASE – Boston College senior linebacker Mark Herzlich (Wayne, Pa.) and NC State senior linebacker Nate Irving (Wallace, N.C.), a pair of hard-hitting defensive standouts who each rebounded from life-threatening situations, have been named the recipients of the 2010 Brian Piccolo Award, Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford announced Friday.

The Piccolo Award has been given annually since 1972 in memory of the late Brian Piccolo to the “most courageous” football player in the ACC. Piccolo was the ACC Athlete of the Year in 1965 and played for the Chicago Bears before his career was cut short when he was stricken with cancer. His courageous fight against that disease was an inspiration to the Bears and the entire football community.

This year’s Award marks the third time two student-athletes shared the award. Irving is the fourth NC State student-athlete to be honored with the Picccolo Award, joining former teammate Toney Baker, who received the award last year, Scott Adell (1991) and Ralph Stringer (1977), as past Wolfpack honorees. Herzlich becomes the first Boston College student-athlete to be honored with the Piccolo.

In May of 2009, Herzlich was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma in his left thigh. Ewings is an aggressive cancer which attacks both soft tissue and bone. He underwent extensive radiation and chemotherapy in the months following his diagnosis. Once the cancer was controlled, a titanium rod was also inserted into his left leg to stabilize the bone. Once cleared, he began a rehab program to restore his lower body strength. This past summer, probably as a by-product of his aggressive rehab, Herzlich developed a fracture in his right foot. Despite this setback, Herzlich was able to start and compete in Boston College’s 2010 season opener against Weber State. On October 5, Herzlich suffered a broken bone in his left hand, resulting in a cast which has basically made him play “one-handed” this fall.

Still, Herzlich has responded to be Boston College’s third-leading tackler on the nation’s top ranked defense against the run. Herzlich has recorded 54 tackles this year, including 41 solo hits, 3.5 for loss. Despite the “club cast” on his hand, he has four pass interceptions, five pass deflections and one forced fumble.

NC State’s Irving was severely injured in a single car motor vehicle accident on June 28, 2009. Irving suffered a compound fracture of the tibia, a broken rib, a punctured lung and a separated shoulder. The fracture of the tibia required a surgical insertion of an intermedullary nail to allow proper alignment and healing of the bone. Irving faced a length rehab due to the severity of his injuries and the quantity of body parts that were affected.

Due to an extensive rehab program, Irving was able to return to football activities in March of 2010. He has enjoyed a sometimes spectacular senior season as the 2nd leading tackler for an NC State defense which ranks 3rd nationally in sacks and 4th in tackles for loss. He ranks 4th nationally in tackles for loss with 19 and has five quarterback sacks among his 85 total tackles.