Furious Rally By Huskies Falls Short in Chapel Hill

Boxscore (.pdf)

Boxscore (.html)

CHAPEL HILL, NC (January 18) - Freshman Rashad McCants scored 27 points including four of his five attempts from three point range as North Carolina defeated the University of Connecticut men's basketball team Saturday in front of 21,750 at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

UConn,11-2, got off to a slow start for the fourth consecutive game, missing 12 of its first 13 shots.  North Carolina however, now 11-5, came out hot hitting four of its first six shots and jumped out to an early 13-0 lead.  Freshman Rashad Anderson (Lakeland, FL) got UConn on the board with a three point basket at the 16:43 mark, but Carolina would answer with a 10-1 run over the next six minutes to take a seemingly insurmountable 23-4 lead with 10:39 remaining in the first half.  However, the Huskies rallied for a 13-3 run over the next four minutes to cut the lead to nine.  Both teams went back and forth for the remainder of the half and the stanza ended with Carolina holding a 38-27 advantage. 

The momentum from the first half come-back carried over to the second half for the Huskies as Sophomore Taliek Brown (Queens, NY) hit a fast-break lay-up at the 16:00 minute mark to bring the Huskies to within five.  The Tar-Heels were unable to get the lead back to double digits as the Huskies hung tough, poised to make a final charge.  Anderson hit another three with just under three minutes remaining to bring the Huskies within three, 64-61.  Then, after an offensive foul by Carolina guard Jackie Manuel, Freshman Hilton Armstrong (Peekskill, NY) hit both ends of a one and one to bring the Huskies within one.  The Huskies then forced a turnover and Taliek Brown dished to Sophomore Emeka Okafor (Houston, TX) for a fast-break dunk and UConn had its first lead at the 1:16 mark.  UConn would not score again and UNC pulled it out 68-65.

Leading the way for the Huskies were Okafor who had 13 points, seven rebounds and six blocks, and freshman Denham Brown (Toronto, Canada) who had 10 points.  Sophomore Guard Ben Gordon (Mt. Vernon, NY) was the only other Husky in double figures with 10. 

For North Carolina Raymond Felton (11 points) and Jawad Williams (10) were the only other Tar-Heels in double figures besides McCants.

UConn is back in action Monday, January 20th at 7:00pm as they take on BIG EAST rival Miami at the Convocation Center in Coral Gables, FL.  The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.