Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 23, 1990 TAG: 9003232732
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DALLAS LENGTH: Medium
Four straight 3-point field goals, three of them by Lee Mayberry, triggered a second-half surge that carried seventh-ranked Arkansas to a 96-73 victory in the NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional basketball semifinals.
"If we blow up and things go right for us, we're very tough to stop," said Nolan Richardson, Arkansas' coach. "And that's what happened to us."
The Razorbacks (29-4), seeded fourth, will play Saturday night in the regional semifinals against Texas, a 102-89 winner over Xavier, Ohio.
North Carolina ended its season 21-13.
It will be Arkansas' first trip to the final eight since 1979.
Mayberry started the big second-half run with a 3-pointer that gave the Razorbacks a 57-54 lead with 10:37 to play. After North Carolina's George Lynch made a free throw, Mayberry canned two more 3-pointers and Todd Day made another in a little more than a minute, giving Arkansas a 66-55 lead.
"The streak in the second half of 3-point shots was too much to overcome," said North Carolina coach Dean Smith, who suffered his worst NCAA Tournament defeat since a 92-65 loss to Purdue in 1969. "I think it hit us hard and we got impatient trying to catch up, and that was my fault."
Mayberry had eight points in the first half, when he also had three fouls. He didn't make a basket in the second half until his 3-pointer that started the rally.
Richardson said he used a timeout to urge his sophomore guard to shoot the ball.
"I thought he was passing up too many 3-point shots he can knock down," Richardson said. "I told him `I don't care if we win or lose, just put up your shot.' "
The advice paid off. After the Razorbacks went up by 11, North Carolina got no closer than 68-61 on a 3-pointer by Rick Fox with 7:29 remaining.
Fox, the Tar Heels' leading scorer at 16 points per game, went scoreless in the first half and finished with nine points. Scott Williams led North Carolina with 20 points, but no other Tar Heel scored more than 11.
Arkansas, on the other hand, got 25 from Lenzie Howell, 19 from Mayberry, 19 from Oliver Miller and 18 from Day. Day had only six points in the first half because he picked up three fouls before the game was five minutes old.
Howell helped carry the Razorbacks in the first half, scoring 15 points as Arkansas took a 39-34 lead at halftime.
"I was very pleased going into the dressing room with a five-point lead," Richardson said. "I've always thought that our team was a second-half basketball team."
The second half started poorly for the Razorbacks. After an opening basket by Howell, Arkansas went three minutes without a field goal, while North Carolina went on an 11-1 run to take a 45-42 lead.
Howell's follow shot with just under 11 minutes to play gave Arkansas a 54-52 lead, then a jumper by Lynch tied the score, setting up the 3-point barrage.
Once Arkansas got the big lead, North Carolina was forced to stretch its defense and gamble. That opened the inside for the 270-pound Miller, who scored 15 of his points in the second half.
"When they were gambling, we always attacked the basket," Richardson said. "The `Big O' was just having a field day."
Richardson had stressed beforehand that his team would have to remember it was playing North Carolina's players from 1990, and put the Tar Heels' tradition aside. Although North Carolina controlled the tempo most of the way, the Razorbacks stayed poised throughout.
"I wasn't scared of them," Day said. "It's just whenever you hear North Carolina, you know you're in for a battle. But like coach said, our bomb went off tonight."
\ NORTH CAROLINA MinFGFTRebAPFPts Chilcutt 355-100-0113111 Fox 334-100-08349 Williams 286-158-880420 Rodl 160-20-21000 Rice 303-53-645410 Lynch 153-44-731210 Davis 274-121-230211 Denny 60-30-01000 Harris 71-10-00002 Wenstrom 20-00-00000 Greene 10-00-00000 Team 1 Totals 20026-6216-2540121773\ ARKANSAS MinFGFTRebAPFPts Day 206-133-443318 Howell 3612-180-080325 Credit 150-02-23042 Mayberry 357-141-267319 Bowers 301-52-20314 Huery 202-80-06334 Miller 257-75-541419 Murry 40-20-00000 Hawkins 101-20-02302 Whitby 30-21-20001 Linn 11-10-00002 Marks 10-00-00000 Team 3 Totals 20037-7214-1736202196 North Carolina 34-39-73 Arkansas 39-57-96
Three-point goals-North Carolina 5-17 (Davis 2-4, Rice 1-2, Chilcutt 1-3, Fox 1-5, Williams 0-1, Denny 0-2), Arkansas 8-18 (Mayberry 4-7, Day 3-6, Howell 1-1, Murry 0-1, Whitby 0-1, Bowers 0-2).
by CNB