Tar Heels continue ACC losing streak against Virginia Tech

BLACKSBURG, Va. — The white towels twirled by Hokie fans before Thursday night’s game filled the Cassell Coliseum with white flecks of cloth.

It looked like a snowstorm — and the 74-70 final score added another loss to the pile that’s snowing North Carolina’s season under.

“It’s tough, what we’re going through,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “It doesn’t get any easier.”

The loss, this time to Virginia Tech, will hurt even more because of the flashes of resiliency the Tar Heels showed Thursday. UNC showed it could compete in the ACC, but wins are still elusive.

John Henson, the highly touted freshman forward, started to show his tremendous talent. He played in the post more Thursday night than in previous games, and had a career-high 14 points.

“That’s what I’ve got to do,” Henson said. “We’ve got to get on a winning streak if we keep playing the way we played tonight, cut down on those mental errors.”

Freshman David Wear chipped in 12 points, and sophomore Ed Davis led UNC with 15 points and seven rebounds.

Freshman Dexter Strickland started in place of a struggling Marcus Ginyard, just his fourth start of the season. Strickland played 15 minutes and hauled in seven rebounds, but didn’t add much scoring. Larry Drew II scored nine points and led UNC with six assists.

During one stretch late in the first half, Drew assisted on four straight buckets, and the Tar Heels (13-9, 2-5 ACC) looked in control of the game at the close of the first half.

Heck, Drew even cracked a smile in the second half, something that’s been rare for UNC in 2010.

“I thought we played with much more intensity tonight,” Williams said.

The Tar Heels actually took a lead into the locker room at halftime, only to get shelled by long-range shooting from Virginia Tech.

Malcolm Delaney led all scorers with 21 points, including seven-for-seven free throw shooting to help VT (17-4, 4-3 ACC) close the game down the stretch.

“It’s a good win,” Va. Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. “It’s a good program win. It validates us.”

Yet again, UNC had plenty of chances to pull out a win but gave up runs to start the game and in the middle of the second half. Those runs left UNC playing from behind for most of the game.

“We put ourselves in a hole,” Williams said. “Guys got a little tougher … We were the aggressor on the offensive boards.”

The Tar Heels clawed back to a one-possession game several times in the final three minutes, and Drew’s steal and layup with 1:02 to play put the score at 69-67, Virginia Tech. For a moment, UNC was thinking comeback.

But Drew’s foul put Delaney at the line, and Delaney closed the game out with two makes.

It didn’t help that UNC struggled yet again from beyond the arc and from the free throw line.

UNC went 4-for-15 from deep, and 20-for-30 from the line. The Tar Heels couldn’t seem to get over the hump late in the game — a theme that’s become recurrent for UNC.

And when with 17 seconds remaining, Will Graves’ 3-pointer rattled in and achingly out, it was the close to another chapter in the book of too little, too late that the Tar Heels are writing this season.

The road stretch continues for UNC, as the Tar Heels travel to Maryland on Sunday and then come home to face Duke next week. UNC will likely have to win one or both of those games to stay in contention for an NCAA bid. UNC sits now at 10th in the ACC.

Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.