Tar Heels Take Aim, Fire Away

Three-Point Shots Doom Maryland: North Carolina 108, Maryland 91

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., Feb. 3 -- It wasn't so much that Maryland's offensive plan of attack was flawed by design or faulty in execution on Tuesday night against North Carolina. The Terrapins put their fair share of points on the board.

Rather, it was the constant flurry of three-pointers North Carolina fired from any number of spots along the arc -- and the high rate at which they went in -- that foiled Maryland's hopes for a colossal upset on consecutive trips to the place they call the Dean Dome. No. 3 North Carolina knocked off the Terrapins, 108-91, and did so in a manner that frequently rendered Maryland helpless.

"They weren't really doing anything to knock us around or confuse us," Maryland guard Adrian Bowie said. "What they were doing was they were knocking down three-point shots. When we getting twos, they were getting threes."

The Tar Heels' point total tied for the fifth most allowed in Maryland history.

North Carolina (20-2, 6-2 ACC) shot 11 of 15 from beyond the arc in the first half and rarely had to resort to using its superior size in the post. By halftime, the Tar Heels commanded a 16-point lead, and it grew to 26 after the break.

Tar Heels guard Wayne Ellington shot 7 of 9 from three-point range and tallied a game-high 34 points. Guard Ty Lawson (4 of 5) and swingman Danny Green (4 of 6) also proved deft from beyond the arc.

"With a team with three shooters like Lawson, Ellington and Green, if you give them open shots in the first couple minutes of the game, that gives them confidence that they're going to be shooting well the whole game," Maryland forward Dave Neal said. "That's the mistake we made early."

But as North Carolina's sharpshooters admired their strokes and soaked in the adoration of the 20,863 baby-blue-clad fans in attendance, Maryland inbounded the ball and moved swiftly downcourt. This was the Terrapins' best chance at keeping pace, though it proved insufficient. The quick points Maryland compiled only seemed to play into North Carolina's desires.

"If you want to win in a place like this, you have to be aggressive," said Maryland Coach Gary Williams, whose team fell to 14-8, 3-5. "You can't lay back. I thought our offense was fine, but we weren't aggressive defensively and that really cost us."

Though North Carolina was not as quick-triggered from three-point range in the second half, its lead never came into question. The Tar Heels' physicality in the post, combined with several displays of defensive athleticism, wore down Maryland and negated the Terrapins' best offensive performance of the season.

Maryland freshman guard Sean Mosley shot 6 of 10 from the field and finished with a team-high 19 points. Sophomore swingman Cliff Tucker, who publicly complained about a lack of playing time after sitting out all of Saturday night's win over Miami, played 20 minutes off the bench and tallied 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting.

"I was proud of" Tucker, Williams said. "I was really glad to see what he did because he's a good kid. He works hard. He got a little bit behind this year at the start of the season, but after what he did tonight, he certainly pushed himself back into the rotation, so I'm glad to see that."

Despite its offensive progress (Maryland shot 48 percent), the Terrapins were unsuccessful in compelling a second straight opponent to divert from its game plan. Williams said his team lacked defensive intensity and that he tried to break his players out of their rut by calling frequent first-half timeouts. But "we never snapped out of it," he said.

A season ago, the Terrapins traveled here and defeated then-No. 1 North Carolina, 82-80. It was a hallmark win, one Williams occasionally referenced early this season to refresh the minds of critics questioning his team's recent merits.

Had Maryland repeated the feat and toppled the Tar Heals once again, the reward would have been similar -- a feather in the cap of an otherwise middling squad. On this night, though, the Terrapins' baskets often counted for less than those of their opponent, and that translated to a sizable defeat.

With just more than seven minutes remaining, North Carolina forward Tyler Hansbrough hit a three-pointer from the top of the key. As Hansbrough trotted back on defense, Terrapins junior guard Eric Hayes already was racing with the ball toward the other end. His layup cut the Tar Heels' lead to 21.

"They're not a good transition defensive team at all, and it showed," Bowie said. "Definitely that was our plan, but at the same time, our plan wasn't for them to knock down three-pointer after three-pointer after three-pointer."