Wake Forest University
North Carolina
Demon Deacons Drop Home Contest To UNC
2/7/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2004
By JIM O'CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - North Carolina bounced back from its toughest home loss of the season with its first Atlantic Coast Conference road win.
The 17th-ranked Tar Heels rode the hot shooting of Melvin Scott early and the inside dominance of Sean May late to a 79-73 victory over No. 16 Wake Forest on Saturday.
North Carolina (14-6, 4-5) lost 83-81 in overtime to top-ranked Duke on Thursday, a game that didn't end until after 11 p.m. Saturday's 1 p.m. tipoff didn't seem to bother the Tar Heels as they took a 34-18 lead in the opening 12? minutes of the game, looking like the fresher team in snapping a five-game losing streak to Wake Forest.
Scott had 14 points in that opening run, going 5-for-5 from the field, including making all four of his 3-point attempts.
The Demon Deacons (13-6, 4-5), who lost for the sixth time in eight games since opening the season 11-0, held the Tar Heels without a field goal the rest of the half to get within 38-33 at halftime.
Justin Gray hit a 3-pointer 45 seconds into the second half to make it a 2-point game and thoughts of the first meeting between these teams -- Wake Forest's 119-114 victory in triple overtime -- came to mind.
North Carolina came right back with a six-point possession when Rashad McCants was fouled intentionally as he scored on an offensive rebound. He made both free throws and Raymond Felton hit a jumper on the ensuing possession to make it 44-36 with 18:30 left.
Wake Forest couldn't sustain a run as May scored 13 points in the second half but the Demon Deacons got within 70-68 on a basket by Jamaal Levy with 2:40 left. After an exchange of possessions, Felton, who missed his first five 3-point attempts and was 3-for-10 overall, nailed a 3 with 51 seconds left to make it 73-68.
Scott finished with 20 points for North Carolina, while May had 18 points and 10 rebounds following his 15-point, 21-rebound effort against Duke. Felton had 17 points, four assists and no turnovers in 37 minutes.
Levy and Gray each had 19 points for the Demon Deacons, while freshman point guard Chris Paul had 15 points, seven assists and one turnover.
The loss dropped Wake Forest to 1-4 this season against ranked teams.
