North Carolina found its long-range shooting touch on Sunday night in hitting a barrage of 3-point baskets and pounded rebuilding Georgia Tech into early submission.
No. 7 UNC took a 93-81 decision for its 31st consecutive win at home. One of the poorest 3-point shooting teams in ACC play, UNC made 10 3-pointers on 16 attempts.
The 12-point margin was deceptive for a game in which UNC never trailed. It forged a 21-point lead in the first half and was up 20 at halftime, and Georgia Tech could not get the margin under 15 until the final minutes.
"When you're playing with that cushion, you've got to learn to put the hammer down," said Kendall Marshall of the Tar Heels. "That's a part of our game where we're still growing as a team, and hopefully we'll learn to play a full 40 minutes."
The 10 3-pointers were half of UNC's total for its five previous ACC games. UNC had made 20 in 81 attempts in conference games, and was shooting 24.7 percent against ACC teams.
Marshall hit a 3-pointer on the game's first possession, which he said was probably the first time since middle school that he had opened a game with a made 3-point shot. Harrison Barnes and Reggie Bullock then took over the shooting load.
UNC made four of its first six 3-point shots in opening a 16-7 lead and hit six of nine in building the margin to 30-18 with 8:38 left in the half. The fifth 3-pointer in the run brought a crowd of 21,017 out of its seats in appreciation.
Stilman White, a freshman point guard, was heading down the left middle part of the floor on a break when Pierre Jordan ran over to defend him. White faked that he was cutting to the right and moved back to the left, and Jordan lost his balance and fell down trying to stay close.
White hit his shot from the top of the key. White earned his basket, but lax Georgia Tech defense on the perimeter allowed UNC's shooters to fire repeatedly. With no pressure applied, UNC hit eight of 12 3-point attempts in the first half.
Coach Roy Williams was pleased with the ball movement, but Marshall said Georgia Tech helped by the way it played defense.
"It all started by (us) making stops on the defensive end," Marshall said. "When we have an advantage going down (the floor), teams have to make a choice: stop me, stop the bigs or stop the wings. They kept leaving the wings open."
Barnes led UNC with 23 points and Tyler Zeller added 17. Marshall handed out 12 assists. John Henson blocked four shots and built his career total to 247.
Henson, a junior, moved past Sam Perkins into UNC's No. 2 figure for career blocks. Perkins had 245 in four seasons.
Mfon Udofia led Georgia Tech with 16 points.
UNC improved to 18-3 overall and 5-1 in the ACC, and Georgia Tech fell to 8-13 and 1-6 by losing for the ninth time in 10 games. UNC snapped a four-game losing streak in the rivalry.
"That (streak) was a thought that coach hammered into us," Marshall said. "No matter what the record said, they had beaten us four times in a row."
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement