8B SPORTS
NCAA
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2008
Overtime secures Tar Heels at top
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Third-ranked North Carolina needed a gritty comeback to keep its amazing string against Clemson intact. No. 5 UCLA never could put together such a run against Washington.
Tyler Hansbrough scored 13 of his 39 points in the two overtime matches to help the Tar Heels rally from a 15-point deficit and beat Clemson 103-93, keeping North Carolina perfect in 53 games against the Tigers in Chapel Hill.
In Seattle, justin Dentmon, benched in favor of a freshman for most of the season, scored 20 points to lead pre-
Woody Mayward
Washington to
a 71-61 upset of
the Bruins.
Wayne Ellington added 28 points for the Tar Heels (22-2, 7-2 ACC), who set an NCAA record for the longest home winning streak against one opponent. The previ
ous record was 52, set by Princeton against Brown from 1929-2002.
North Carolina did it by shaking an emotionally draining loss to No. 2 Duke and proving it could win without injured point guard Ty Lawson, erasing Clemson's 11-point lead in the final 3 minutes of regulation.
The game was just as unforgettable
with Lawson out, came up with some key plays late. The senior hit a driving shot to force the first overtime and two free throws to force the second, finishing with sx points and a career-best nine assists.
for the Tigers (17-6, 5-4), but for all the wrong reasons. They got off to a terrific start behind their fullcourt pressure, forcing the Tar Heels on their first five possessions, taking an
"We never gave up," said Hansbrough, who is averaging 29.7 points and 17.3 rebounds over his last three games. "That's what's special about this win for us."
In other Top 25 games Sunday, No.
13 Xavier beat Saint Joseph's 76-72,
and No. 14 Indiana topped Ohio State
59-53.
"Fellas, it wasn't looking good. We were looking at a 30-point (loss) there about 5 or 6 minutes into the game."
UCLA (21-3, 9-2 Pac-10) trailed 66-61 with 47 seconds left — only because the notoriously poor free-
ROY WILLIAMS
UNC coach
8-0 lead in the first 2 minutes and holding North Carolina to nine points in the first 9 minutes.
throw shooting Huskies continually misfired at the line. Then Jon Brockman scored and Ryan Appleby added two free throws to seal the win for Washington (13-11, 4-7).
"They out-toughed us, outhustled us."
said Josh Shipp, who led the Bruins with 19 points. "We just didn't have it today."
Even Quentin Thomas, the one-time third-stringer pressed into duty
Washington won its fourth consecutive home game against the Bruins dating to 2004. The Huskies are now 11-68 against teams ranked in the top 5, stretching back to 1950. Their previous win at home over a such foe
"We never gave up. That's what's special about this win for us."
"Fellas, it wasn't looking good. We were looking at a 30-point (loss) there about 5 or 6 minutes into the game," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. "Tar if live to be 106, I won't any more proud of a group of kids than I am of that bunch right there."
TYLER HANSBROUGH
UNC forward
was last March, against then-No. 2 UCLA.
"We didn't have the same fight we had the last few games," said Darren Collision, who had a season-low three points on 1-for-8 shooting.
"I take full blame. I'm the leader. I'm the captain. I have to step up."
Kevin Love, the Bruins' leading scorer at 17.7 points per game coming in, missed five of his first seven shots and finished with 13 points on just 3-of-8 shooting.
"I was frustrated." Love said. "I was looking for the ball. ... I felt I was open and my teammates didn't find me"
Q&A
BY TAYLOR BERN
tbern@kansan.com
With Freshman Forward Nicollette Smith
Nicollette Smith is a 6-foot-2 freshman forward in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has played in all 21 of Kansas' games this season and made a team high 31 three-pointers this season.
Q: Is there anywhere on the court you're not comfortable shooting from?
A: No. Bonnie tells me to shoot from anywhere as long as someone's not right in my face. She knows that I can make if from anywhere on the court so she's the one that gives me confidence to shoot it from anywhere.
Q. Your brother also plays college basketball (Levi is a 6-foot-7 forward for Division-III Emmanuel College in Boston). Were there any heated one-on-one games growing up?
A: It's kind of weird but we never really played one-on-one against each other. We were always on different schedules so we were never home at the same time.
Q: What is the toughest thing about being a freshman?
A: Getting used to being on such a tight schedule and having to manage all of my time.
Q: Your 19th birthday was Saturday, did you do anything exciting?
A: My Aunt, my Grandma and my Dad all came to the game (against Iowa State) so I just went and hung out with them at the hotel. (Winning) was a good birth day present.
Q: What's been the most frustrating thing about this season?
rewarding thing about this season?
A: Seeing how much potential our team has and us not living up to it.
What's been the most
A: Proving people wrong. I don't think people thought we were going to do that good (11-2) in our nonconference schedule, and we definitely did.
Q: Who does the best impersonation of coach Bonnie
...
Henrickson?
A: (Sophomore guard)
Danielle McCray, She just predicts whatever Bonnie is going to do for that day. She'll know all of her manierisms and all the different hand
gestures and sayings she's going to use about stuff we did.
Q: Who's the best three-point shooter of all time?
A: Reggie Miller.
Q: What's the key to a good three-point shot?
A: Relaxing and following through.
Q: Where do you like to go in your free time?
A: Peking Taste and definitely Buffalo Wild Wings. Or, we go to the mall (in Topeka).
Q: What's the most interesting class you've taken at KU? The most boring?
A: Right now I'm in a class called "Life Skills with Dr. Phil", and I like that class because it teaches me stuff like what to do in interviews and avoiding that student-athlete reputation. And, Physical Geography is the most boring class. I'm glad I'm done with it.
— Edited by Nick Mangiaracina