No. 1 UNC falls to unranked Boston College

11:40 P.M." SUNDAY JAN. 4 -- In the days leading up to North Carolina's ACC opener against Boston College" senior Danny Green said his team needed to be tested. Needed to be pushed and prodded. Needed to react to adversity instead of rolling over victim after victim like the Tar Heels did in their 13 games to start the season. Little did Green know that he would get exactly what he wanted Sunday night at the Smith Center.

Boston College extended a six-point halftime advantage into a 15-point lead with 6:23 to go before holding on for an 85-78 win.

The team thought unbeatable had been defeated.

""Nobody is incapable of losing"" Green said after the game. We're human too; we're allowed to lose.

The No. 1 Tar Heels (13-1"" 0-1 in the ACC) certainly looked mortal against the Eagles.

From the offensive to the defensive ends"" Boston College dictated the tempo and imposed a physical style of play. The Eagles challenged the Tar Heels and the backcourt combo of Tyrese Rice and Rakim Sanders always seemed to answer a UNC bucket.

Rice and Sanders scored more than half of BC's 87 points -- posting 25 and 22"" respectively -- and the two kept the Eagles in contention in the game's early moments.

Because it seemed -- just at first -- as though North Carolina was on the cusp of routing another opponent. A 20-5 run gave UNC an eight-point lead midway through the first period" but Boston College (13-2" 1-0) maintained composed and quickly took over the game.

The Eagles hammered the boards on the offensive end -- they had 13 offensive rebounds in the first half -- and hit the Tar Heels with a methodical combination of ball movement and dribble penetration.

""There's no question that we kept it at our pace" at least as far as I'm concerned on the offensive end" BC coach Al Skinner said..

""I thought we were very prepared for whatever pressure they brought. We only had two turnovers in the first half and I thought that was key in the sense that guys understood what it is and what we needed to do.""

At the end of the first half"" Boston College led 46-40 and North Carolina faced a halftime deficit for the first time all year.

As play resumed after halftime" North Carolina's play only worsened. The Eagles had taken UNC out of its comfort zone" and instead of matching Boston College's intensity North Carolina continued to wilt.

""It felt like tonight they definitely outmanned us" Green said. They were very physical in the beginning of the game. They jumped on us" they had all guns firing. They were dominating the boards. They were hitting shots. They were playing the game they wanted to play.""

After Green hit a three with 4:09 remaining" North Carolina went 2-for-14 from the field" and Hansbrough went 2-for-5 from the free throw line. UNC finished the game shooting 38.4 percent -- 29.3 percent in the second half -- and missed 12 total free throws.

""Shots weren't falling"" said Hansbrough, who led UNC with 21 points and nine rebounds. You look at a lot of guys that usually make some shots and obliviously my free throws weren't the best"" but it happens.""

Those points left on the court made an already challenging rally that much more difficult" and helped the Eagles secure a huge win for a team picked to finish 11th in the ACC. And as much as the win probably meant to this Boston College squad" Skinner didn't let himself show it after the game.

""It's one win"" he said. As of right now that's all it is. I think our program has done OK. It's not like we haven't had any success in the past.

""This is league play" this is one league win. We've got what 15 more games to go" it's no more significant than that. Maybe at the end of the season - maybe it has some significance.""