Georgia Tech ended North Carolina's last chance of reaching the NCAA Tournament this season by pulling away in the final five minutes for a 62-58 win in the ACC Tournament's first round last night.
The Tar Heels blew a 10-point halftime lead but rallied to force a 56-56 tie with 5:02 left at the Greensboro Coliseum. But they missed their last eight shots, netting only two free throws the rest of the game, and made crucial mistakes to lose once again.
The first of the errors was made by point guard Larry Drew, whose pass to Will Graves at the free-throw line was batted away and taken by the Yellow Jackets. Andre Bell hit a fading 15-foot jumper for a 58-56 lead, and the Yelllow Jackets didn't trail again.
The turnover was the first of four the Tar Heels had in the final 4:30. Drew had five turnovers, half of the Tar Heels' total for the game.
North Carolina had three shots two possessions later and couldn't get a basket. One possession later, Tyler Zeller sped to the basket on a break and shot a layup on the right side, but 6-10 forward Derrick Favors timed his leap perfectly to block the shot.
"We couldn't get stops on the other end," Coach Roy Williams said. "We just couldn't get the ball in the basket on our end."
Gani Lawal worked into the lane for a six-foot jump shot and Georgia Tech's lead was 60-56. Only 1:46 was left, not nearly enough time for a struggling team to mount one more comeback.
"I feel like they were ready to lay down, and I feel like we weren't ready to take the game," Drew said. "The game was there for us to take. We just couldn't take it.
"I feel like it's been like that all year. There's been similar situations when we could close out the game, but it's like we lose ability."
The Tar Heels fell to 16-16 and lost to a team three times in a season for the first time since the 2002 season. Williams said that he would like to play in the NIT, if invited.
"If somebody's going to invite me to play, I want to go play. Period, the end," Williams said. "Are we worthy enough to be invited? That I don't know.
"That's for the people who make decisions. Maybe they won't even invite us. If somebody invites me to go play, we're going to go play."
Drew and senior forward Deon Thompson both said they would like to play in the NIT.
"Definitely I would love to keep on playing and not have to go out on this bad note," Thompson said. "It's so disappointing. It definitely would be good to continue to play."
Georgia Tech improved to 20-11. It advanced to today's quarterfinals and will play Maryland at 7 p.m.
Zeller led North Carolina with 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Thompson added 10 points and eight rebounds. Favors, a freshman, led Georgia Tech with 18 points and nine rebounds, and missed once in eight shots from the field.
The Tar Heels led by 13 points in the first half. Behind 13-7, they had a 17-0 scoring run for a 24-13 lead, and built the margin to 28-15 with 4:22 left before halftime.
Georgia Tech hit North Carolina immediately in the second half and wiped out a 34-24 halftime lead in less than four minutes. Iman Shumpert keyed a 15-4 scoring run with two 3-point shots that gave Georgia Tech a 39-38 advantage.
The Tar Heels didn't rattle and regained the lead. They twice forged four-point leads and held a 49-46 advantage with 12:21 left, but their offensive problems began to emerge. They went the next 5:28 with only one field goal, which allowed the Yellow Jackets to take a 56-52 lead.
Drew couldn't explain why the offense fell apart late, or why the Tar Heels missed 14 of 16 3-point attempts. Shooting specialist Graves, playing in his hometown, missed seven 3-point shots in eight attempts.
"Coach was calling the plays he wanted us to run," Drew said. "I feel like guys were maybe a little bit too erratic out there.
"In certain situations, especially in crunch time, I think guys didn't let their instincts take over at the end. It's the way it is sometimes. The ball won't go in the basket for you."
bcole@wsjournal.com
UNC Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A PF Pts
Ginyard 36 2-8 2-2 2-6 4 0 6
Drew II 32 1-9 1-2 0-4 8 1 3
Graves 33 2-12 1-2 1-4 2 1 6
Thompson 24 5-12 0-0 7-8 0 3 10
Henson 18 3-7 0-0 3-6 1 4 6
Strickland 12 0-1 2-2 0-0 1 1 2
McDonald 8 1-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 2
TWear 12 2-5 1-2 2-2 0 3 6
Zeller 25 7-11 3-4 3-10 0 2 17
Totals 200 23-69 10-14 21-46 16 15 58
Percentages: FG .333, FT .714; 3-Point Goals: 2-16, .125 (T.Wear 1-1, Graves 1-8, Ginyard 0-1, McDonald 0-2, Drew II 0-4); Team Rebounds: 6; Blocked Shots: 2 (Henson 2); Turnovers: 10 (Drew II 5, Zeller 2, Strickland, McDonald, Ginyard); Steals: 5 (Ginyard 3, Zeller, Thompson); Technical Fouls: None.
GaT Min FG-A FT-A OR-T A PF Pts
Shumpert 36 3-10 1-2 1-4 4 1 9
Bell 23 3-8 1-3 1-5 1 3 8
Favors 29 7-8 4-5 3-9 0 3 18
Lawal 27 5-8 2-5 2-4 0 1 12
Rice Jr 31 3-8 0-0 1-4 3 3 8
Udofia 8 0-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 0
MMiller 13 1-4 0-0 1-2 2 2 2
Oliver 9 0-5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Peacock 24 2-4 1-1 2-5 1 0 5
Totals 200 24-56 9-16 11-37 11 14 62
Percentages: FG .429, FT .563; 3-Point Goals: 5-19, .263 (Rice Jr. 2-4, Shumpert 2-6, Bell 1-2, Udofia 0-1, M.Miller 0-1, Oliver 0-5); Team Rebounds: 3; Blocked Shots: 8 (Favors 5, Lawal 2, Peacock); Turnovers: 14 (Bell 3, Favors 3, Rice Jr. 3, M.Miller 2, Udofia 2, Shumpert); Steals: 6 (M.Miller 2, Peacock, Shumpert, Bell, Lawal); Technical Fouls: None.
North Carolina 34 24 -- 58
Georgia Tech 24 38 -- 62
A--NA
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