UNC Catches Rare Breaks In Road Win

On Sunday against Clemson, Doherty's Tar Heels got all the breaks for which they've been waiting.

There was Adam Boone's banking in a 3-point shot in the first half.

There was the Tar Heels overcoming first-half foul trouble.

And there was even seldom-if-ever-used Joe Everett scoring in the final minute of UNC's 87-69 victory.

"I'm proud of this group of guys," said Doherty. "A lot of other teams would've folded in this situation, given up, packed it in."

The last time UNC had won on the road was at Wake Forest on Feb. 6, 2001, when Joseph Forte, Brendan Haywood, Ronald Curry and Julius Peppers all still wore Tar Heel uniforms.

And before Sunday, UNC had lost six straight road games and was in danger of inching ever closer to the school record for consecutive losses at eight.

But led by double-figure scoring from four players, including career-highs from guards Adam Boone and Melvin Scott, the Tar Heels put those streaks to rest.

Doherty said making the right decisions and taking good shots -- things North Carolina hasn't done much recently -- were big factors in UNC's win, its first of the new year.

"We passed up some shots that maybe we would've taken in the past," he said. "And maybe that's my fault for not getting us to do that earlier in the season."

Adam Boone, who scored 23 points and had 10 rebounds, said the win proved the team is being rewarded for its hard work in practice.

"It's exciting to see the hard work start paying off," he said. "That was a sign of the way we can play. We attacked them."

Having nearly all its players healthy for the game -- only Orlando Melendez and Jackie Manuel did not suit up -- also proved vital for the Tar Heels.

While Kris Lang carried much of the load in North Carolina's last three losses -- in which Jason Capel sat out with a concussion -- the weight was much more evenly distributed Sunday, as four Tar Heels scored in double figures.

"It felt good to have almost everybody back," said Jawad Williams, who scored 10 points. "We're still waiting for Jackie, but we're almost 100 percent back.

"We just went out and played the way we're capable of playing."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.