Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 22, 1995 TAG: 9501240054
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Leading third-ranked North Carolina by three points with 12 minutes, 15 seconds left, Virginia Tech was staring one of the biggest victories in school history right in the face.
``We were right where we wanted to be,'' said Shawn Smith, Tech's junior forward. ``We've got the lead, we're confident and, hey, we're thinking we can win this game.''
Think again, Smitty. Hey, this wasn't VCU. It was UNC.
After riding on cruise control most of the afternoon, the Tar Heels floored the accelerator late and ran away from the Hokies 87-76.
North Carolina (14-1) outscored Tech 37-23 in the final 11:44 to erase a three-point Hokies lead.
As expected, this was an inside job for Carolina. The Tar Heels' frontcourt of center Rasheed Wallace and forwards Jerry Stackhouse and Dante Calabria collectively hit 22 of 29 shots en route to 56 points.
Stackhouse led UNC with 21 points, and Wallace had 18. Calabria, whose damage was done outside - where he was 5-of-7 from 3-point land - had 17.
The Tar Heels hit 31 of 50 field-goal attempts (62 percent) against a Tech defense that had held its first 16 opponents to 38.9 percent shooting.
``The thing that really hurt us was they shot the ball so well,'' said Bill Foster, the Hokies' coach. ``And they weren't gimmes, either.''
At the other end, the Hokies rarely got a ``gimme.'' When they did, it was questionable as to whether it would go in. Tech hit 30 of 81 field-goal attempts (37 percent), well below its 48.7 average entering the game.
Smith, Tech's leading scorer, had a miserable day, hitting four of 22 field-goal attempts and settling for 11 points.
``Thank Wallace for that,'' Smith said. ``I tried to go over him, I tried to go around him. It was just very difficult for me to get my shots off.
``He was smart. He would let me catch the ball. And with that 5-inch [height] advantage, he would let me shoot it and he was going to get it.''
Wallace, who had seven of North Carolina's 10 blocks, put the ball back in Smith's face at least four times.
``Hey, this guy isn't just anybody. ... He's an All-American, a first-round [NBA] lottery pick,'' Smith said.
``I admit I tried to force the issue too much. A lot of times I shot it I should have passed it.''
Despite not shooting well, Tech was able to hang in the game because of an incredibly strong effort on the offensive boards. Twenty-five of the Hokies' rebounds came off their own misses.
``They killed us there,'' said Dean Smith, the Tar Heels' coach. ``One problem is that when you try to block a shot, you get out of rebounding position. But I don't want Jerry and Rasheed to quit trying to block shots.''
The Tar Heels got out of the box quickly, breaking to a 20-11 lead in the first 8:12. But Tech countered with a 10-2 run to get back in it and went to the locker room at halftime down 37-36 when Travis Jackson scored on layup just before the horn.
In the second half, Tech led 48-44 after Damon Watlington's 3-pointer with 15:50 left. It was 53-50 Tech after another Watlington 3-pointer with 12:15 left.
``By that point, we knew we could play with 'em,'' said Tech forward Ace Custis. ``We were thinking about winning, believe me.''
But down the stretch, Carolina's players, most of them highly touted recruits, took control.
Wallace hit a baseline six-footer to make it 53-52. Then, Jeff McInnis, fouled by Tech's Shawn Good on a 3-point attempt, hit three free throws to make it 55-53. Calabria's 3-pointer on UNC's next possession put the Heels up five.
After David Jackson's free throw got Tech to 60-58 with 8:11 left, Calabria hit again from downtown to make it 63-58. After a Shawn Smith turnover, North Carolina went up eight on a three-point play by McInnis with 5:59 left.
The Hokies never got closer than six again.
``It seemed like Stackhouse and Wallace just took over down the stretch,'' Smith said. ``We kept it tight and played it close as long as we could. Finally, we were just outmanned.''
Stackhouse's powerful windmill jam with 3:02 left supplied the punctuation mark.
``I'll have to look at that one on tape,'' said Stackhouse, a former Oak Hill Academy standout.
Foster, whose Hokies (13-4) play at Louisville on Thursday, praised his team. He used only six players and had the nation's third-ranked team on the run on a court in its back yard.
``I don't think anybody asked for a refund on their ticket,'' Foster said. ``It was a heck of game.
``I couldn't be prouder of my team. They played as hard as they could. I've had 14 teams play UNC, and none have played any harder than this one today.
``For Carolina, you can only hold them so long. It's just a matter of time with their guys.''
by CNB