Men's Basketball ACCtion: Saturday, January 12

Jan. 12, 2008

AP Photo Gallery

No. 1 Tar Heels Roll Past Wolfpack, 93-62

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina remembered the sting of last season's surprising loss at North Carolina State and knew the Wolfpack were picked in the preseason to be one of the Atlantic Coast Conference's best.

The top-ranked Tar Heels made both look like little more than fleeting memories Saturday.

Deon Thompson and Ty Lawson each scored 16 points and North Carolina scored 25 straight points in the first half of a 93-62 victory over the Wolfpack, giving the Tar Heels their largest victory margin in the series in nearly 15 years.

Tyler Hansbrough had 13 points and 13 rebounds to help the Tar Heels (17-0, 2-0) match the 1997-98 team with 17 straight wins to start the season, their best since winning 21 straight to open 1985-86.

Danny Green added 13 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and four blocks for North Carolina, which opened a 43-13 halftime lead and turned the game into a total disaster for an opponent with ambitions of joining the ACC's perennially elite.

Courtney Fells had 16 points to lead N.C. State, which shot just 6-for-34 (18 percent) in a first half straight out of coach Sidney Lowe's nightmares. The Wolfpack got no closer than 26 points in the second half.

Allen's free throw lifts Hokies to narrow win over Terps

Replay on ACC Select

Virginia Tech-Maryland box scoreVirginia Tech 67, Maryland 66 Jeff Allen canned a free throw with 12.4 seconds left and the Hokies survived as last-second Maryland 3-point attempt to notch a hard-fought 67-66 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over the Terrapins at Cassell Coliseum on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, Tech has now registered victories in four of its past five games, moving to 10-6 overall, 1-1 in the league, on the season. Maryland, which played without starting guard Eric Hayes (injured ankle), fell to 10-7, 0-2 in the ACC.

The Hokies trailed by five points with 1:45 left in the game after Maryland's Bombale Osby made the first of two free-throw attempts. But Tech shut Maryland out the rest of the game and scored the final six points to record the win.

With the score tied at 66, a wide-open Allen got the ball in the post from teammate A.D. Vassallo, and Osby fouled him with 12.4 ticks to go to keep Allen from scoring. Following a timeout, Allen - a 69.4 percent free-throw shooter coming into the game - made the first one to give Tech a 67-66 lead, but missed the second one. After a mad scramble for the rebound, the Terrapins got the ball and called a timeout with nine seconds remaining.

Miami Downs Georgia Tech in ACC Opener

Replay on ACC Select

No. 25 Miami overcame a slow start to win its ACC opener Saturday, 78-68, over Georgia Tech, improving to 4-0 in ACC home openers and 9-0 at the BankUnited Center this season.

At 14-1, the Hurricanes tie the best start in program history set in 2001-02.

Sophomore James Dews scored a career-high 18 points and junior Jimmy Graham matched a career high with 13 for the Hurricanes (14-1, 1-0), who fell behind by 12 points early and then went on a 31-11 run.

The Hurricanes won despite missing their first 13 3-point tries. The ACC's leader in three-point percentage -- and fourth in the NCAA, Miami shot 42 percent from the field, but hit a season-low 2-for-19 from 3-point range. However, the Hurricanes made up for it by forcing 18 turnovers, which led to 24 points.

Jeremis Smith had a season-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Georgia Tech (7-8, 0-2). It has been six years since the Yellow Jackets had such a poor overall record this late in the season.

The Hurricanes missed 10 consecutive shots early and fell behind 22-10 before Graham sparked their comeback. He scored seven consecutive points and started an 11-0 run that cut Georgia Tech's lead to 22-21.

BC Rolls Past Wake Forest, 112-73

Junior guard Tyrese Rice equaled his career high with 32 points and senior center John Oates came off the bench to score 14 points to lead Boston College to a 112-73 ACC win over Wake Forest before 7,352 fans in Conte Forum.

The point total marked the Eagles' highest point total in a league contest (Big East or ACC) in program history. It also marked the first time BC scored 100 points in league contest since defeating host Seton Hall, 101-83, on Feb. 12, 1985.

The Eagles shot a blistering 66.1 percent from the field, including 68.4 percent from three-point range. BC also shot a season-high 87.5 percent from the foul line. BC's field goal percentage is its highest percentage in a league contest since shooting 66.7 percent in a 95-71 win at Virginia Tech on Jan. 29, 2003. Its three-point percentage is its highest percentage since shooting 69.2 percent (9-for-13) against Rutgers on Dec. 4, 1996.

Boston College led from start to finish. Led by two early baskets from sophomore Shamari Spears, the Eagles scored the game's first 11 points. Wake Forest rallied to trim the margin to two points (22-20) with 8:56 left in the first half, before BC closed the half with a 23-10 run. Oates led the Eagles with 11 points before halftime (including three three-pointers).

Clemson Earns Thrilling 97-85 Double Overtime Victory Over Florida State

Replay on ACC Select

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) - Don't let Trevor Booker's 6-foot-7, 240-pound body fool you. He's an excellent outside shooter, teammate Terrence Oglesby says.

Oglesby's not so bad from behind the arc either.

Booker's 3-pointer at the end of regulation was one of the Tigers' two buzzer-beating baskets. Then Oglesby put the game away with three 3-pointers in the second overtime of 18th-ranked Clemson's 97-85 win over Florida State on Saturday night.

Booker's gone 4-of-4 from behind the arc the past two games after not make any his first 49 games. No doubt his biggest one came with the game clock winding down and Florida State ahead 67-64.

Booker found himself alone, and threw up a ball that banked off the backboard for the tying basket.

The Tigers (13-2, 1-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) seemed destined to a second consecutive ACC heartbreaker at Littlejohn Coliseum. Last Sunday night, No. 1 North Carolina and Wayne Ellington were the culprits, Ellington's 3-pointer lifting the Tar Heels to a 90-88 win.

This time, Toney Douglas nailed a three from about the same spot as Ellington's to put the Seminoles (12-5, 1-1) ahead and set up Booker's heroics.