James Michael McAdoo.North Carolina worked up a 12-point lead via the outside shooting of Marcus Paige and inside play of James Michael McAdoo and held on for a 75-71 home win over Pittsburgh Saturday.
“It’s a big win over a very good basketball team,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “I’m glad I don’t have to go to Pittsburgh this year. They’re awfully good but we made some big plays.”
McAdoo finished with a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds while Paige scored 18 with all five of his field goals coming beyond the arc.
The Tar Heels’ sixth straight victory (17-7 overall) didn’t come easy against the physical Panthers, who held a seven-point lead midway through the first half and cut a 12-point deficit to two in the second half.
Carolina, who fell behind 20-13, rallied and tied it at 27 on a McAdoo steal and dunk with 5:40 left in the half. Isiah Hicks dunked over a defender on a fastbreak to give the Heels their first lead since it was 9-8.
A Paige four-point play – he was fouled on a three-point shot – helped the Heels to a 35-31 halftime lead.
Three more three pointers by Paige over a six-minute period in the second half helped the Heels up the lead to double figures at 56-46.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Brice Johnson on a feed by Hicks gave the Heels their largest lead of the game at 61-49 with 8:50 to play in the game.
A 12-2 Pitt run cut it to 63-61 with less than five minutes to play. Click here to read more about the wild finish.
UNC coach Mike Fox.No. 12 North Carolina dropped its 2014 season opener to the College of Charleston, 7-4, Saturday afternoon at Patriots Point. Tom Zengel’s two-run double helped the Tar Heels build an early 4-0 lead, but the Cougars rallied for five runs in the sixth and added two in the seventh to spring the upset.
Junior Benton Moss started on the mound for the Tar Heels (0-1) and sailed through his first four innings, retiring all 12 batters he faced. After stranding four runners in the first three innings, Carolina broke through with four in the fourth.
Parks Jordan led off the frame with a walk before Wood Myers singled off CofC starter Nathan Helvey two batters later. Zengel then roped a double off the wall in right center to plate Jordan and Myers to give Carolina a 2-0 lead. Adrian Chacon then made it 3-0 when his hard-hit grounder got past Carl Wise at third for a run-scoring double. After Tyler Ramirez singled home Chacon to make it 4-0, the Tar Heels were off and running.
Moss ran into trouble in the fifth, but escaped unscathed thanks to an outstanding diving stop by Myers at second. With runners on first and second with one out, Nick Pappas ripped a grounder up the middle that Myers speared and flipped to Michael Russell covering for the second out of the frame. Moss then got Alex Pastorius to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the threat.
He was not as fortunate in the sixth, however, as Carolina gave Charleston (1-0) two extra outs and the Cougars took advantage. Blake Butler and Gunnar Heidt opened the inning with consecutive singles before Brandon Murray grounded to Joe Dudek at first. Dudek was unable to corral the bouncing ball and all three runners were safe.
Wise was up next, and he lifted a fly ball to right that looked like a sure out. But with a stiff wind blowing toward right, Ramirez was unable to make the play and the ball fell just inside the foul line for an RBI single. After a Ben Boykin sacrifice fly made it 4-2, Moss was lifted in favor of sophomore right-hander Reilly Hovis.
Hovis quickly got ahead 0-2 on Charleston’s Brandon Glazer, but the redshirt junior lifted a 1-2 pitch toward right that carried over the wall just inside the foul pole to put the hosts in front, 5-4.
CofC added two more in the seventh and Carolina was unable to solve Charleston freshman righty Bailey Ober until the ninth. The 6-8 freshman retired the first 13 batters he faced before allowing back-to-back singles to Myers and Zengel with one out in the ninth. But defensive replacement Morgan Phillips made a diving catch of a Zach Daly liner to center and Ober got Ramirez swinging to end it.
Six true freshmen made their Carolina debuts Saturday as starters Chacon, Dudek, Myers and Ramirez were joined by relief pitchers Zach Rice and Spencer Trayner. Freshmen accounted for six of UNC’s nine hits, while Rice and Trayner retired the three total batters they faced.
The Tar Heels are playing in South Carolina this weekend due to the extreme winter weather that hit Chapel Hill Wednesday and Thursday and left Boshamer Stadium unplayable.
Game two of the three-game series is set for Sunday afternoon at 2. Carolina’s Trent Thornton will face Charleston junior Taylor Clarke.
Robbie Mudge.Duke’s Beatrice Capra and NC State’s Robbie Mudge have been named this week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tennis Players of the Week.
In helping Duke capture the 2014 ITA Indoor Team Championship, Capra faced some of the nation’s toughest competition, as she compiled a singles record of 3-1. Capra’s three singles wins came against the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 15 competitors in the country.
In addition to excelling in singles play, Capra also performed well in doubles, teaming with Hanna Mar throughout the weekend to amass a doubles ledger of 2-1, with the lone loss coming at the hands of the No. 1 doubles pair in the country. Capra’s victory over UCLA’s Robin Anderson, the highest ranked singles player in the country, tied the championship match at 3-3 before Mar clinched the championship for the Blue Devils.
NC State’s Mudge enjoyed a solid weekend in which he went unbeaten in singles and doubles and helped the Wolfpack to victories over two ranked foes. Against No. 30 VCU on Friday, Mudge and his doubles partner Ian Dempster clinched the doubles point for NC State with an 8-7 (4) victory from the No. 1 position.
The pair would pick up two more victories against No. 26 South Carolina (8-2) and Longwood (8-3). On Friday, Mudge helped NC State earn a 4-3 win with a singles victory over VCU’s Michal Voscek, 6-4, 6-1, before clinching the team win for the Wolfpack against the Gamecocks on Sunday with a thrilling 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (1) victory over No. 103 Kyle Koch from the No. 2 singles position.
A young North Carolina Tar Heel women’s team went into Duke and came away with an impressive 89-78 upset over the Blue Devils.
Diamond DeShields.UNC freshman Diamond DeShields, who feigned a yawn at the Cameron Crazies, delivered with season-high 30 points. She was hot from the outside (five threes) as was the entire Carolina team, which averages five threes a game but which got 12 threes in this one.
It was the first time the Tar Heels have won at Duke in six years and it broke a seven-game win streak by the Blue Devils.
The Tar Heels led by nine at then half but had to answer several Blue Devils runs, including one where Duke trailed by just one and had the ball. Every time Duke made a run, Carolina quickly answered with a three or a two and a foul.
Three freshman started the game against the experienced Blue Devils.
“We’re freshmen by age and academic level I guess but we’re not freshmen in basketball. That’s just our mindset,” DeShields said. “No team wants to get beat by a bunch of freshmen.”
DeShields said it was an incredible environment. “I’ll never forget this game. Gosh, I’m overwhelmed. I’m so proud.”
Carolina had lost three straight ACC games by a total of 11 points. The Tar Heels improve to 18-6 and 6-4 in the ACC while the Blue Devils fall to 22-3 and 9-2 in the league.
Vic Bubas.Vic Bubas, former head basketball coach at Duke University, will be the speaker at the weekly Raleigh Sports Club meeting Wednesday, Feb. 12. Bubas, who played at NCSU for the legendary Everett Case, retired from coaching in 1969 and was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.
The RSC will honor Hunter Kuehn, a Sanderson High School basketball player, as the student athlete of the week for outstanding achievement in the classroom, community and on the field.
Meetings are held in Bradley Hall in Highland UMC, 1901 Ridge Road at the intersection of Lake Boone Trail, just inside the Raleigh Beltline. Buffet lines open at 11:30 a.m. and the meeting starts at 12 noon. See http://www.raleighsportsclub.org/ for details.
Roy Williams.North Carolina, trailing by nine against a hot-shooting Notre Dame team in the first half, turned up the pace late in the first half and continued it into the second half to top the Irish 73-62. (2/8)
Over the last two minutes of the first half and the first six minutes of the second half, the Tar Heels outscored the Irish 24-7 and turned a deficit into a 14-point lead at 44-30.
The game had been a laboriously slow one highlighted by four three pointers from Notre Dame before Marcus Paige almost single-handedly changed the pace.
First he drove the left side for a layup with 2:18 lef in the first half. Then he banged in a quick three from the top of the key. After a James Michael McAdoo dunk follow, Paige passed a mini alley-oop to McAdoo with two seconds left in the half to give Carolina a 27-23 lead.
“We played with some poise,” UNC coach Roy Williams said, mentioning the Irish quick start. “We got going at the end of the half.”
Brice Johnson.North Carolina raced out to a 19-3 lead in the first five minutes and held off Maryland 75-63 for the Tar Heels fourth straight victory Tuesday night.
“It was a lot of fun the first four or five minutes,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “But then it got a lot like work.”
It was the last time Maryland will come to Chapel Hill as a member of the ACC and with the Heels up late, the Carolina fans let them know about it with chants of A-C-C.
Despite double-digit leads for much of the game, UNC saw Maryland cut it to three in the first half before taking a 39-27 halftime lead and saw Maryland cut it to six in the second half before winning by 12.
Brice Johnson, off the bench, led the 11-2 late first half run with three buckets while Marcus Paige led the charge in the second half with 18 of his game-high 25 points.
Johnson had his best game in a long time, maybe all year, with an eight of eight performance for 19 points in 22 minutes of play.
An active James Michael McAdoo, along with a three by Leslie McDonald, highlighted the first couple of minutes as the Heels got out to a 12-0 lead and extended the margin to 19-3 after just five minutes.
The Terps went on a 16-3 run of their own to get back in the game. The Heels led by 13 early in the second half before Maryland went on a 14-8 run to get back in it again.
“They kept coming at us but we kept answering,” Coach Williams said, adding that his players are much more confident than they were a few games ago.
“They’ve bought into the sense of urgency issue that we’ve been preaching all year long,” he added.
Chris Rodon.Ten players from the Atlantic Coast Conference have been recognized as preseason All-Americans by Baseball America, announced Monday. The 10 representatives are the most from any conference in the country.
The ACC also leads the nation with four players selected to the first team. Florida State SP Luke Weaver, NC State SS Trea Turner and SP Carlos Rodon, and Virginia OF Derek Fisher earned the honor.
North Carolina OF Skye Bolt and Virginia DH Mike Papi were named to the second team. Florida State DH D.J. Stewart and UT Jameis Winston were joined by Virginia SS Branden Cogswell and OF Brandon Downes on the third team.
Virginia leads all teams with four players recognized, and NC State is the only program to have multiple players earn first-team honors.
The 2014 season gets under way on Feb. 14 with all 14 ACC teams in action. For the full release from Baseball America, visit: http://theacc.co/1n7sbpx.
Cam Ward.The Carolina Hurricanes today announced that the team has recalled goaltender Cam Ward from the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Ward, 29, was 1-1 with a 2.02 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in two AHL games for the Checkers during his conditioning stint. The Saskatoon, Sask., native has missed the Hurricanes’ last 14 games due to a lower-body injury and the conditioning assignment. Prior to the injury, Ward (6’1”, 185 lbs.) had posted a 6-7-5 record, a 3.15 goals-against average and an .895 save percentage in 19 games with Carolina this season. He is the Hurricanes franchise’s all-time leader in games played by a goaltender (450), wins (220) and shutouts (21). The Hurricanes drafted Ward in the first round, 25th overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.
The Hurricanes host the Winnipeg Jets at PNC Arena on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (FOX Sports Carolinas, Hurricanes Radio Network) in the second game of a four-game home stand.
KeepitHeel.com is reporting that NC State fans vandalized the Dean Smith Center before the start of Saturday’s UNC vs. NC State game.KeepitHeel.com is reporting that NC State fans vandalized the Dean Smith Center before the start of Saturday’s UNC vs. NC State game.
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