THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 20, 1997 TAG: 9702200318
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. LENGTH: 74 lines
Wake Forest lost for the third time in its last four ACC games Wednesday and this time there was no ifs, buts or maybes.
Sophomore Vince Carter gave 12th-ranked North Carolina (18-6, 8-5 ACC) an explosive start and the fourth-ranked Deacons (20-4, 9-4) never fully recovered.
The 74-60 victory was the sixth straight for the Tar Heels in the Smith Center, where Wake Forest has won only once in 12 visits.
Carter, who finished with 26 points, personally outscored the Deacons, 21-18, in the first half.
``It was amazing,'' Carter said about his first-half performance.
``I haven't had a game like that since high school. I felt good about my shot, and I just let the game come to me.''
North Carolina, a 24-point loser to the Deacons in early January, kept alive its chances for grabbing a share of the ACC regular-season championship.
From a 0-3 league start, the Tar Heels are 8-5 tied with Clemson for third place, 2 1/2 games behind frontrunner Duke.
The loss leaves Wake Forest 1 1/2 games behind Duke and tied with Maryland for second place.
``I don't think anyone gave us chance at the title after we went 0-3, and lost by so much to Wake Forest in our first game,'' Carter said.
``But we believed we could do it, and we've worked hard to turn things around.''
Two of the Deacons previous ACC losses were sealed by controversial last-second shots, but the Tar Heels made this one easy for the ACC refs.
The surging Heels, a perfect 6-0 in February, held a 48-26 lead before the Deacons gained their composure and tried to salvage the win.
During a four-minute period in the second half, All-American Tim Duncan awakened from his slumber and helped to cut the Heels' advantage to 11.
A couple of minutes later, Tony Rutland hit a 3-pointer and the lead was down to seven.
Carter said his thoughts and those of his teammates flashed back to the Maryland game in which the Tar Heels blew a 22-point lead.
But that was when Carter was out with a hip injury.
``I had to watch that one, but I wasn't going to let it happen again,'' Carter said. ``No one else was, either.''
Antawn Jamison hit two field goals and pair of free throws and Shammond Williams connected on a 3-pointer as Carolina rebuilt the lead to 63-50 at 5:33.
Wake Forest coach Dave Odom credited North Carolina's defense for his team's 25 percent shooting in the first half.
``We didn't have many good shots, and we didn't make most of the ones we had,'' Odom said.
``But I feel good that we were able to play better in the second half.''
The Deacons didn't have an answer for Carter in the first half as he hit 9 of his 10 field-goal attempts, which included a trio of 3-pointers and several high-flying dunks.
``We came in knowing Carter is on the way up, and he was a major factor for them in the first half,'' Odom said.
The Tar Heels also got a big boost from 7-foot-2 center Serge Zwikker, who contained Duncan in the first half while contributing eight points.
Duncan, though, got the best of the match in the second half when he scored 13 of his 20 points.
The victory assured North Carolina of its 33rd straight season of finishing
``We're on a roll right now,'' said Jamison, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds. ``I told you at the beginning of the season that once this team gets to where we need to get it's going to be very scary and you are kind of seeing that now.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
UNC's Vince Carter rams home two of his 21 first-half points against
Wake Forest. Carter finished with 26 in the Tar Heels' 74-60
victory.