Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 9, 1991 TAG: 9103090258
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOHN SMALLWOOD SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTE, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
For the 10th time, the Tigers and Tar Heels met in the tournament, and although it was closer than many thought it would be, Clemson's 67-59 loss was its 10th goose egg against UNC in tournament play.
"There's no moral victory, but you have to be proud of the battle and the effort," said Clemson coach Cliff Ellis, whose seventh-seeded team came in as a 17-point underdog. "We did everything we wanted to do, and we had opportunities to win. It just didn't happen."
After Clemson (11-17) took advantage of Carolina's aggressiveness on defense and worked its deliberate attack to a 42-36 halftime lead, the Tar Heels (23-5) stopped trying to force the tempo.
Carolina dropped into a sagging zone that cut off the Tigers' inside game and decided to be patient.
The Heels outscored Clemson 31-17 in the second half to advance to today's semifinal against Virginia at 3:30 p.m. The Cavaliers dropped Wake Forest 70-66 in Friday's late game.
"We're extremely pleased to have won over what I thought was an excellent Clemson effort," North Carolina coach Dean Smith said. "Right before the end of the half, we said, `OK, we'll do it your way.' We decided we'd play it possession by possession and hope we'd come out ahead."
Point guard King Rice scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half and kept the Tar Heels' offense under control.
UNC maximized its offensive opportunities in the opening moments of the second half by making 4-of-5 shots to take a 46-44 lead at the 16:29 mark.
The Heels slowly built the margin to seven and led 61-55 with 6:20 left. Carolina didn't score again for more than five minutes, but Clemson couldn't take advantage, getting just two points on nine possessions during that time.
Clemson's game-plan went astray when Carolina switched from man-to-man to a zone defense and sealed off the entry lanes to Tigers big man Dale Davis.
Davis, who scored 10 first-half points, had just five in the second.
"In the first half, they were hurting us because they getting penetration and then dumping off to Dale," said Carolina guard Hubert Davis, who led the Heels with 15 points. Carolina also corrected its rebounding problem.
Ricky Jones scored 12 points and Davis added six as the Tigers raced to a 22-12 lead 10 minutes into the game and forced Smith into a rare first-half timeout.
"We had to stop giving Clemson so many easy baskets," Smith said. "I wanted to remind our team that Clemson has great quickness and was shooting the ball very well. They have speed and ability and are not necessarily a team we are just supposed to beat."
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Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB