Wake Forest University
North Carolina
Demon Deacons Stun No. 13 Tar Heels, 66-57
1/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2000
By JOE MACENKA
AP Sports Writer
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) - Robert O'Kelley made up for a miserable start with a furious finish that rallied Wake Forest to a 66-57 victory over No. 13 North Carolina on Wednesday night.
O'Kelley missed his first 11 field-goal attempts before scoring 13 points in a 28-9 run that helped the Demon Deacons (11-4, 2-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) end a six-game losing skid against the Tar Heels.
O'Kelley made six of his last seven shots and finished with 18 points, all in the final 14:12, as Wake Forest erased a 10-point deficit.
The late surge by the Demon Deacons' best scorer sent North Carolina (11-4, 2-1) to its first loss in four games. It also represented the first time in nine games this season that the Tar Heels lost after leading at halftime.
North Carolina, which came in shooting an ACC-leading 51 percent, was held to 38 percent and had 18 turnovers.
Kris Lang led the Tar Heels with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Darius Songaila added 16 points for the Demon Deacons.
O'Kelley's first field goal came on a driving layup with 10:22 left. He was fouled by Jason Capel on the play and made the free throw to cut Wake Forest's deficit to 39-38, but both O'Kelley and the Demon Deacons were far from done.
O'Kelley made four of his next five field-goal attempts and added two steals to finish off the run. He ended the surge by stripping the ball from Joseph Forte and going the length of the floor for a layup that put Wake Forest up 53-44 with 5:43 remaining.
The Demon Deacons stretched it to 57-46 on a short bank shot by O'Kelley at the 4:10 mark, and North Carolina was unable to cut it below seven the rest of the way.
Wake Forest shot 30 percent in the first half, including an 0-for-8 showing by O'Kelley. North Carolina held Wake Forest without a field goal for more than eight minutes, setting the stage for the Tar Heels to close the half with a 13-6 run for a 28-21 lead.
The Tar Heels would have had a bigger cushion if not for their poor ball-handling. North Carolina had nine first-half turnovers that the Demon Deacons converted into eight points.
O'Kelley's first point came on a foul shot that cut North Carolina's lead to 33-25, but Brendan Haywood answered with a dunk at the 13:49 mark that gave the Tar Heels their first and only double-digit lead.
