ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 18, 1996 TAG: 9603180131
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
One smashing was not enough for Texas Tech.
Darvin Ham brought down what is believed to be the first shattered backboard in 58 years of NCAA Tournament game history, and the Red Raiders then made smithereens of North Carolina's hopes for a 15th Sweet Sixteen trip in 16 years.
The Red Raiders also fractured the myth that their 30-1 record and East Region third seed weren't legitimate in a 92-73 second-round victory Sunday at the sold-out Richmond Coliseum.
It's the first time Tech has won two games in an NCAA Tournament.
``They probably were seeded too low at three,'' UNC coach Dean Smith said. ``The way they played today, they probably should have been a two.''
For the Tar Heels (21-11), there wasn't much excitement to the end of the Dante Calabria era after Ham, one of Tech's four senior starters, brought down a Hydro-Rim board when he jammed home a rebound of a Jason Sasser shot with 12:06 remaining in the first half.
That tied the score at 16 and stopped the game for 29 minutes, sending the teams to their locker rooms and a maintenance crew scurrying for a replacement board.
Ham showered away the glass that he brought on himself. Carolina's Antawn Jamison and Serge Zwikker also suffered minor cuts, but on this day, the Tar Heels couldn't stop the bleeding.
UNC coach Dean Smith provided some levity on what was otherwise a long-faced afternoon for his team. When CBS telecast analyst Larry Farmer told Smith he'd seen the replay of the shattering experience, Smith smiled and asked, ``Who on my team didn't box out?''
On the new backboard, the Southwest Conference champions went on a 10-0 run led by Sasser - 10-for-13 for 27 points - and Cory Carr, who had 19 points in 22 off-the-bench minutes.
The Red Raiders were 7-for-14 on the old glass. They finished the half 10-for-17 on the new hoop, and with a 44-32 lead.
Of course, the way the Red Raiders were swishing 3-point hoops, they didn't really need a backboard. Tech hit 12 of 26 shots from behind the arc and for the game shot 59 percent - a season high against the Heels.
``When we went to the locker room after the board broke, our concern was that we didn't lose our intensity level,'' Tech coach James Dickey said. ``We didn't.''
Other than breaking the glass and bringing the loudest cheer of the day, Tech didn't do much wrong in the first 20 minutes, and rolled to their nation's-best 23rd straight win and an East Regional semifinal date with Georgetown (28-7) Thursday night at the Georgia Dome.
Tech, which suffered its only loss on Dec.27 to Eastern Michigan, felt it had something to prove - and played like it. The eighth-ranked Raiders have heard all season that their glossy record was polished against a mediocre schedule and in a lame-duck conference.
``When you beat a team like North Carolina, that's a statement,'' Ham said. ``I knew from the start we'd play big.''
Virginia athletic director Terry Holland was the Richmond site coordinator for the NCAA Basketball Committee. He said the only concern when the board broke was ``the safety factor.''
"The crew did a great job cleaning up and getting the new one in place and sealing it,'' Holland said. "The difficult thing in this situation is that you can get glass everywhere. They got it contained.''
Two backboards were broken in practice at last year's Final Four in Seattle, including one shattered by Oklahoma State's Bryant ``Big Country'' Reeves, but Sunday's falling fiberglass is recalled as the first in an NCAA game.
Carolina, making its 22nd straight NCAA trip and 30th in school history, has spent two tournament days so glassy-eyed.
The Heels have lost only four of their 98 NCAA games by more than 20 points, the most lopsided loss being a 92-67 Final Four semifinal setback to Rick Mount-led Purdue at Freedom Hall in 1969.
Carolina ended the season with seven losses in its last 12 games, including a first-ever ACC tournament loss to Clemson in the first round.
The Heels' backcourt was woeful. Carolina's perimeter defense was slow and lacked aggressiveness, and while point guard Jeff McInnis scored 19 points, his three assists spoke volumes about how Tech's Jason Martin disrupted UNC's offensive leader.
``We didn't think Martin would play McInnis,'' Smith said. ``And we didn't think Sasser could make those 3s.''
Turns out that more than a backboard was shattered.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Texas Tech's Darvin Ham pulls down the rim andby CNBshatters the backboard while dunking against North Carolina in the
first half Sunday. 2. Texas Tech's Darvin Ham is rained on by a
shower of glass after breaking the backboard Sunday, delaying the
game nearly 30 minutes. color. 3. North Carolina coach Dean Smith
(left) hangs his head in the final minutes of the Tar Heels'
crushing, 92-73 loss to Texas Tech. Smith is sitting next to
assistant coach Bill Guthridge and player Shammond Williams (right).
Graphic: Chart. color.