
DATE: Sunday, March 9, 1997                 TAG: 9703090320

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: GREENSBORO, N.C.                  LENGTH:   91 lines

TAR HEELS HALT WAKE'S TITLE RUN ON WAY TO SHOWDOWN WITH STATE

In case anyone didn't know, Wake Forest coach Dave Odom felt obligated Saturday to identify the team that had given his Deacons their first ACC tournament defeat in three years.

Oh, sure. You could look at the name on their jerseys to see it was North Carolina that had beaten the Deacons, 86-73, to advance to today's championship game against North Carolina State.

But Odom took it farther than that.

``Who did we lose to?'' he asked.

``We probably lost to the team that is playing the best basketball in the country right now . . . the team that is playing closest to its potential,'' he said.

It would be difficult for anyone to dispute that assessment, especially if he had been in Odom's shoes and just seen his own very good team taken apart in the semifinals game.

The Tar Heels (23-6) flexed both their muscles and talent in the second half to take control of the game and advance to the title game for a record 24th time.

They have not met rival N.C. State in a championship game, though, since State won a 68-67 thriller in 1987.

The Tar Heels will be seeking their 14th ACC tournament title, all but one under coach Dean Smith, who is three wins away from breaking Adolph Rupp's record (876) for most college victories.

North Carolina's 11th straight victory - its longest streak since 1993 - also may have been good enough to assure a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Wake Forest (23-6) also had its eye on a top seed, and a third straight tournament title, but those hopes wilted in the heat of what Smith called his team's best half of the season.

After finishing the first half tied at 35, the Tar Heels made 68 percent of their shots and found a way to cool Deacons' All-America Tim Duncan in the final 20 minutes.

The 6-foot-10 Duncan scored only 4 of his game-high 33 points in the final 13 minutes, and none in the last four minutes after the Heels had taken a 73-61 lead.

With North Carolina playing zone most of the final half, the Deacons cast their hopes on a 3-point attack but made only 10 of 29 attempts - two of them by Duncan.

``We knew if they got a good working margin they would go to a zone,'' Odom said.

``I encouraged our perimeter shooters to shoot, but the story of the game is we weren't making them.''

There were a few other stories, too.

One of them was UNC guard Shammond Williams, who had 16 of his 24 points in the second half.

Williams began the half with a 16-foot jump shot and followed that with a 3-pointer.

``They were playing off me and giving me the shot, so I took it,'' Williams said.

When the Deacons began paying attention to Williams, they had another story to contend with in playmaker Ed Cota and Vince Carter.

In a three-minute span midway through the half, Cota hit Carter for an alley-oop slam. Then it was Carter on a jump shot, Cota on a layup, and Carter for two free throws.

Cota delivered the knockout blow with a 3-pointer at 4:25 that gave the Heels a 71-59 lead.

``Williams set the tone,'' Odom said. ``We couldn't stop him early and that cost us.

``Then Cota took over. His 3-pointer with the clock winding down was a big play of the game.''

Duncan said failing to win a third straight tournament title to conclude his brilliant ACC career was disappointing.

``They just played better than we did, and they had five players in double figures,'' Duncan noted. ``It is disappointing, but we have another tournament (NCAA) to play and we figure to have a better chance in it.''

Cota said he is not too surprised to be playing eighth-seed N.C. State in the championship game.

``They played us really well in regular-season, and we were fortunate to win,'' Cota said. ``We have a lot of respect for them. It is going to be a great match-up - their speed against our size.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot

North Carolina made 68 percent of its shots and cooled Wake Forest

All-America Tim Duncan in the second half Saturday. Tar Heels coach

Dean Smith called the period his team's best half of the season.

Photo

HUY NGUYEN/The Virginian-Pilot

North Carolina controlled Wake Forest's Tim Duncan, right, in the

second half. Duncan scored only 4 of his game-high 33 points in the

final 13 minutes, and none in the last four minutes. Serge Zwikker

is at left.