North Carolina Tops Clemson in Double-OT

[February 11, 2008]  CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- Tyler Hansbrough scored 13 of his 39 points in the first and second overtimes to help No. 3 North Carolina rally from a 15-point deficit and beat Clemson 103-93 on Sunday night.

Wayne Ellington added 28 points for the Tar Heels (22-2, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who needed a frantic comeback to keep alive their perfect record against the Tigers in Chapel Hill. North Carolina has won all 53 meetings, setting an NCAA record for the longest home winning streak against one opponent.

Cliff Hammonds scored 31 points to lead the Tigers (17-6, 5-4), who seemed on their way to ending the long-running streak. They led by 11 points with about 3 minutes left in regulation before the Tar Heels ran off a 14-3 run to force the extra periods.

Hansbrough came up a point shy of matching his career-high, going 11-for-16 from the field and 17-of-19 from the foul line while pulling down 13 rebounds. Meanwhile, Ellington -- who scored 36 points and hit a last-second 3-pointer to beat Clemson in January -- came up with a tough driving shot past Raymond Sykes in the final minute of the second OT to help seal it.

Even Quentin Thomas, the one-time third-stringer pressed into duty with point guard Ty Lawson out with an injury, came up with some key plays for the Tar Heels. Thomas hit a driving shot to force the first overtime and two free throws to force the second.

It was an impressive way to bounce back from Wednesday's 89-78 home loss to second-ranked Duke, and it came with Lawson -- who sprained his left ankle last weekend at Florida State -- sitting on the bench for the second straight game.

Hansbrough picked up where he left off after tallying 28 points and 18 rebounds against the Blue Devils. He knocked down a straightaway shot off a feed from Thomas to put the Tar Heels ahead to stay, then hit two free throws to make it 94-90 with 3:28 left in the second overtime.

The 6-foot-9 forward also came up with a big defensive play near midcourt, knocking the ball loose from 6-6 guard David Potter and running down the loose ball before drawing the foul. He drained those two free throws to make it 98-93 with 1:33 left.

It didn't look like a comeback was possible early.

North Carolina committed turnovers on its first five possessions, fell behind 8-0 in the first 2 minutes and managed just nine points in the first 9 minutes against the Tigers' full-court pressure. Those disastrous opening minutes put a short-handed Tar Heel team already trying to bounce back from the emotionally draining Duke loss in catch-up mode most of the way.

The Tigers, meanwhile, looked relaxed and completely unburdened by their past in Chapel Hill. They led by 11 points at halftime and handed North Carolina its largest deficit of the year in a second half that left the home crowd nothing short of stunned.

Yet the Tar Heels clawed back in it with a frantic rally, getting consecutive 3-pointers from Danny Green to make it 82-80 with 1:10 left. Then, after freshman Demontez Stitt missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 36 seconds left, the Tar Heels tied it on Thomas' driving score with 25.4 seconds left in regulation.

[Associated Press; By AARON BEARD]

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