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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Tent cities filled with students
desperate for a ticket. A sea of orange shirts at every game.
Players that feed off of the fans, and noise that makes it hard to
concentrate.
|  | | Virginia's Travis Watson, left, tries to pick Brendan Haywood 's pocket. |
This is what Virginia basketball has become for coach Pete
Gillen and the Cavaliers (No. 11 ESPN/USA Today, No. 9 AP) this season, and No. 2 North
Carolina became the latest to experience it in an 86-66 loss at
University Hall on Sunday.
"They were quicker today, they jumped higher today and they
shot the ball better today," Tar Heels coach Matt Doherty said of
the Cavaliers, who improved to 13-1 at home with victories against
Duke and Maryland.
"When we play, we can play with anybody in the country,"
Gillen said. "We just want to try to be as close to what we did
today as many times as we can. That's what the great teams do."
Virginia jumped the Tar Heels in the first half with a 22-6 run
that turned a 31-29 deficit into a 51-37 lead and had another
sellout crowd, some of whom had camped out eight days for tickets,
simply delirious
The second half proved more of the same as a 10-4 burst pushed
the Virginia lead to 76-56 with 9:47 left and seemed to end the
suspense.
"What we wanted to do in the second half was keep that lead,
pressure them and make them try to come to us," Virginia's Roger
Mason said.
Virginia held on despite a scoring drought that lasted 5:47,
allowing North Carolina to get within 76-66 with 4:55 left. But
that basket, a layup by Joseph Forte, proved the last points the
Tar Heels scored.
Forte scored 28 points, but made only four of his last 19 shots
after starting out 7-for-8, and Brendan Haywood added 20 points.
Haywood finished 9-for-12 from the field; the rest of the team was
19-for-52.
The Tar Heels also suffered from the absence of point guard
Ronald Curry for all but eight minutes of the first half, when he
drew three fouls, and from three that put Haywood on the bench in
the second half.
The victory was Virginia's fourth against a team ranked in the
top 10 at the time, and came only 11 days after another one, a
91-89 last-second triumph against then-No. 2 Duke that ended the
same way this one did.
As the final horn sounded, students from both sides stormed the
court, and Gillen and some players addressed them on the
microphone.
"They were berserk," said Gillen, who joked that he'd spent
half his budget in the past two weeks buying food for the tent city
occupants.
The Cavaliers (19-6, 8-6 ACC) were paced by Mason with 18
points, Donald Hand with 17 and Travis Watson with 14 and 10
rebounds. Adam Hall and Chris Williams each added 13, and all but
Watson hit a 3-pointer.
Since heading into ACC play at 10-0, then struggling, Virginia
has come a long way since losing 73-68 at home to Georgia Tech on
Jan. 9.
"Everybody knows what type of roll they have now," Watson
said. "Everybody can score and everybody feels comfortable with
everybody."
The Tar Heels, meanwhile, left with a disappointed coach.
"You've got to bring it every night, and today we didn't.
That's the most disappointing thing," Doherty said. "It hurts to
admit that."
Virginia led 56-42 at halftime. It was the most points allowed
by the Tar Heels in a half this season and featured nine Cavaliers
3-pointers.
Playing a more deliberate offensive style against the Tar Heels
zone in the second half, the Cavaliers used their 10-4 run to push
their margin to 20 for the first time, and the Tar Heels seemed to
fade.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
North Carolina Clubhouse
Virginia Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Virginia's Adam Hall blows past two defenders on the baseline and soars to the rim for the big flush.
avi: 1261 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Virginia's Adam Hall finishes the fastbreak with a spinning layup off the glass.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Brendan Haywood shows his leaping ability by making the layup.
avi: 1190 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
The Tar Heels work the perfect backdoor play as Joseph Forte finds Kris Lang for the finish.
avi: 945 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Kris Lang explodes through the lane and rises for an emphatic jam.
avi: 2005 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Pete Gillen and the Cavaliers tried to make it an ugly game against North Carolina.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Matt Doherty says the Tar Heels did not bring it against Virginia.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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