UNC handled by Tigers in second ACC contest

CLEMSON, S.C. — They might have been picked to win the conference, but if North Carolina doesn’t change something soon, they’re not going anywhere in the ACC.

The Tar Heels (12-5, 1-1) were dismantled by No. 24 Clemson in their first ACC road game, losing 83-64. An early 18-4 run put the Tigers in control, and well before the end, the Tar Heels stood with heads down, hands on hips.

Sure, Clemson coach Oliver Purnell’s full-court defense forced plenty of turnovers (26, tying UNC’s season high), but it wasn’t the only problem. More than once, the No. 12 Tar Heels got into scoring position only to throw the ball into the stands. They also failed to get good looks for their big men and broke down on defense, leaving a bounty of open 3-point shots.

In short, they were rattled.

“They’re always doing the same press defense, we’ve just never played this bad against it,” Marcus Ginyard said. “We just didn’t give ourselves a chance to win.”

The turnovers turned into easy scores and open 3-pointers for the Tigers (14-3, 2-1), who shot 58 percent in the first half.

Deon Thompson and Ed Davis had only one field goal between them in the first period. UNC’s best sources of scoring early were guards Dexter Strickland and Larry Drew II driving to the basket.

The guards didn’t shoot poorly for the most part, and Strickland led the team with 17 points, but even that played into the Tigers’ hands.

“We felt like we were the quicker, faster team, so the faster the game went, the better,” Purnell said.

The Tar Heels weren’t much better in the second half.

No possession was more futile than the three-offensive-rebound disaster with 12 minutes to go.

UNC had just given up a runner from Booker at the other end to make the score 64-43, and seemed determined to be patient and not just throw up the first chance they got for a tip-in.

But it just wasn’t their night. Despite good looks, Will Graves missed a pair of 3-pointers on the wing, and Travis Wear got one shot blocked and the other missed from the low post.

The Tar Heels briefly cut the deficit to 11 with six minutes to go on a nice feed from Thompson to Drew, but Demontez Stitt came right back for a layup on the other end to make the score 71-57.

Stitt finished with 20 points and forward Trevor Booker had 21 to go with nine rebounds for the Tigers.

“Guys who are leaders on this team didn’t contribute well tonight, like myself, and we turned the ball over like it was going out of style,” said Thompson, who finished with four points. “We definitely have to do better.”

Ginyard lost several passes out of bounds early, and apart from one steal for a breakaway dunk, was a non-factor in his second game back from an ankle injury.

The Tar Heels are now 0-3 in true road games and 1-2 at neutral sites. If they still hope to finish in the top of the ACC, they’ll need those upperclassmen to teach them how it’s done, and quickly.

“Clemson showed what aggressive means,” coach Roy Williams said. “They had a great sense of urgency and poise and we need to play with that.”



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