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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) -- The schedule maker couldn't have been
kinder to North Carolina in its Atlantic Coast Conference opener.
The 14th-ranked Tar Heels, who struggled against some tough
non-conference competition before January, whipped its annual home
patsy for the 46th straight time in Chapel Hill, beating Clemson
65-45 Thursday night.
"The two losses before Christmas really woke us up," said
North Carolina's Jason Capel, referring to defeats to Indiana and
Louisville.
Joseph Forte scored 15 points to lead the Tar Heels over a
Clemson team that shot 31.7 percent and hasn't been within five
points of the Tar Heels here since the 1981-82 season.
"I was very pleased with our players until we shot the ball
quickly four straight times," Clemson coach Larry Shyatt said.
"We could not resist that Hershey bar. That took a very close game
and made it a not so close game."
Forte provided the offensive spark the Tar Heels (10-4, 1-0 ACC)
needed after a sluggish first half as the Tigers remained winless
in Chapel Hill.
"I'm sure it means something," Shyatt said of the long losing
streak. "At some point it will be fun to talk about."
The 6-foot-4 Forte scored on a 3-pointer and double-clutch
baseline shot within a 28-second span midway through the second
half, then fed Brendan Haywood for a dunk as North Carolina grabbed
a 57-37 lead with 7½ minutes left and never were threatened.
In fact, the Tigers (6-7, 0-1) went 10 minutes without a point
during a 16-0 run started by Forte's five points.
The win improved the Tar Heels to 40-7 all-time in ACC openers,
while the Tigers have lost 19 of 22 in the series.
Will Solomon, the ACC scoring leader who had at least 22 points
in six of Clemson's last seven games, was held to 13 points on
5-for-19 shooting.
"Forte was on Solomon most of the time and I thought he did a
good job and made some good plays," North Carolina coach Bill
Guthridge said. "Our first seven really contributed."
That included football player Julius Peppers, who grabbed 13
rebounds in 24 minutes.
"Julius has good basketball savvy, a good feel for the game,"
said Guthridge, whose club outrebounded the normally physical
Tigers 43-34. "And he's very quick."
The Tar Heels led 33-20 at halftime and went up by 15 points
less than three minutes into the second period on 3-pointers by
Capel and Ed Cota and the Tigers never got closer than 12 the rest
of the way.
Both teams had only 11 points in the opening 11 minutes as the
Tigers played a deliberate style that produced listless offense
from the Tar Heels.
But Capel, Max Owens and Cota made 3-pointers during a 15-2 run
as North Carolina grabbed control of the game, 26-13, as the ACC's
worst shooting team managed just 31 percent from the field in the
first half.
The Tar Heels led by 13 points at halftime despite being a
miserable 4-for-11 from the foul line. The Tigers were equally bad
from 3-point range, going 2-for-16 in a game that had little
offensive artistry.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Clemson Clubhouse
North Carolina Clubhouse
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