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CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Stall ball almost stalled the end of the season for North Carolina, if not for Duke's Jason Williams. Williams scored 16 of his 20 points in the second half as No. 3 Duke shook off a game effort by the stubborn Tar Heels for a 60-48 victory to advance to the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. North Carolina (8-20) was facing a team that had beaten it by a combined 56 points in two games in the regular season, including a 93-68 loss in Durham on Sunday. Tar Heels coach Matt Doherty decided to slow down the tempo by holding the ball on offense and resorted to various zones on the defensive end. "You don't want to have to play this way, but it was our best chance to win," Doherty said. "Games previously showed that we struggled with the tempo and pressure." The strategy helped the undermanned Tar Heels stay in the game. They pulled within 48-43 on a pair of foul shots by freshman Melvin Scott with 4:32 remaining. North Carolina got back the ball with a chance to get closer but Williams responded with a steal and dunk. He added a 3-pointer with 2:35 remaining for a 53-43 cushion and the Tar Heels never recovered. "First of all, he played great defense, then he dunked with his right hand," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "It was one of the more spectacular plays I've seen a kid make for me, especially in that type of situation." "I think this game was great for us," Williams added. "It was an NCAA-type game. Games are going to be slow-down, possession by possession. In the tournament, you can't expect games to be high scoring." Krzyzewski indicated that he expected the Tar Heels to try something different from the regular season. "We anticipated that they were going to do something 'Four Corners' or open middle motion, and we tried to prepare for it," he said. "That was a tournament game. North Carolina was superb. Immense credit has to go to them for their preparation for this game." Duke (27-3) will face Wake Forest in Saturday's semifinals. The Tar Heels took a 12-10 lead on two free throws by Will Johnson midway through the first half before Duke used a 16-2 run to seemingly take command. North Carolina managed to whittle the deficit to 28-22 at halftime. Duke managed just 18 baskets for the game and only seven assists. "Both teams played so well, hard, clean," Krzyzewski said. "It was a classic game, I thought. We feel very fortunate to win." Kris Lang scored 14 points and Jason Capel finished with seven and 12 rebounds in their final games for the Tar Heels. North Carolina's streaks of 27 straight NCAA Tournament appearances and 31 straight 20-win seasons came to an end. "I don't think it has hit me yet that my career is over," Capel said. "It's been a tough season. I feel blessed. It is a dream come true for me to play at Carolina." The Tar Heels have lost 10 of the last 11 meetings with the Blue Devils and suffered a 20-loss season for the first time. The game was a rematch of last year's ACC championship. |
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