CHAPEL HILL, N.
Andrew Luck Womens Jersey .C. -- Marcus Paige
and his North Carolina teammates have endured so many wild swings -- big wins,
surprising losses, NCAA drama -- that no one can blame their Hall of Fame coach
for wondering whats next. And yet, a month after sitting at 0-3 in the Atlantic
Coast Conference, the Tar Heels are surging after a rousing comeback against
their fiercest rival that had their fans rushing to midcourt to celebrate when
it was over. Paige scored all 13 of his points in the second half, including two
big baskets in the final 2 1/2 minutes, to help UNC beat No. 5 Duke 74-66 on
Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Senior Leslie McDonald added a
season-high 21 points for the Tar Heels (19-7, 9-4 ACC), who rallied from 11
points down in the second half to beat the Blue Devils (21-6, 10-4) in a rivalry
game postponed more than a week by a winter storm. It was by far North Carolinas
most impressive win during its run. Before Thursday, most had come against teams
standing sixth or lower in the ACC standings. "Im not going to say were a
finished product because weve got games left," Paige said, "but man, were
playing really well right now and were winning games in a lot of different
ways." It marked UNCs third win against a top-five team this season, along
then-No. 1 Michigan State and then-No. 3 Louisville. Throw in then-No. 11
Kentucky in December, and the Tar Heels have beaten the top four teams from The
Associated Press preseason Top 25. Not bad for a team that never had top player
P.J. Hairston due to NCAA violations for improper benefits. "It was a bunch of
guys that fought really hard," coach Roy Williams said, "and I couldnt be
prouder of my team than I am right now." After filling the entire court after
the horn, thousands of fans mobbed Franklin Street on the north end of campus to
continue a celebration that came eight days later than they had hoped due to
last weeks winter storm. The storm brought enough snow and ice to paralyze area
roads and kept Dukes bus from even making it to Durham to pick up the team for
the 11-mile drive to the Smith Center in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels made it
worth the wait for their fans by being tough enough to wrestle control from the
Blue Devils. They shot 50 per cent from the field after halftime and even made
their last 10 free throws after a disastrous start at the line. Jabari Parker
and Quinn Cook both scored 17 points for Duke, which led 51-40 with about 15
minutes left before going ice cold from the field. The Blue Devils missed 13
straight shots and went scoreless for 6 minutes at one point, helping the Tar
Heels climb back in it by mixing a 1-3-1 zone with man defence. "They would just
keep switching," Cook said. "Wed come down, and we wouldnt know what theyd be
in. They kept us on our toes with their defence." Duke shot 36 per cent (11 for
31) after halftime and made 5 of 22 3-pointers for the game, Coach Mike
Krzyzewski said he thought his team "played young" in the second half. "We
looked tired or we didnt have life," Krzyzewski said. "And no matter what we did
in a timeout, we just didnt have that spark -- the anger, the emotion, the thing
you have to have to match what their crowd, their team is doing. You have to try
to counter that. And I just felt we were, we didnt have the life that you needed
to have." Paige provided plenty of that fight for the Tar Heels. After being
hounded by Duke defenders Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon through his scoreless first
half, he scored nine points in the final 5 1/2 minutes starting with his only
3-pointer of the night. McDonald hit the go-ahead jumper to make it 62-60 with
3:54 left, capping his own strong performance after two straight 1-for-8
shooting performances. Paige followed with a stepback jumper over Rodney Hood
with 2:11 left, then answered Parkers free throws by driving for a scooping
layup through the heart of Dukes defence. After Sulaimon missed a 3 on the
ensuing possession, freshman Nate Britt followed with two free throws that
pushed the lead to 68-62 with 46.2 seconds left and soon had the rowdy home
crowd inching closer to the court. It marked the 11th time Paige has scored in
double figures in the second half this season after scoring four or fewer in the
first. The postponement created a four-games-in-eight-days stretch for both
teams, though its particularly challenging for Duke with No. 1 Syracuse visiting
Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night in a rematch of the overtime classic
won by the Orange earlier this month. UNC hosts Wake Forest on Saturday
afternoon.
Johnny Unitas Womens Jersey .ca. Hello Kerry,
After watching Nino Niederreiter clobber Alex Burrows with an open-ice hit on
Wednesday, do you think he should have gotten more than the two minutes for
interference.
Jack Doyle Colts Jersey . Riethers apparent
stamp on Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj during Saturdays Premier
League match at Craven Cottage was missed by the match officials. A three-man
panel of former referees reviewed the incident and all agreed that it was a
sending-off offence.TORONTO - Although Wednesdays overtime loss was one that
Jonas Valanciunas would sooner forget than relive, his coach hopes its something
the Raptors sophomore centre will learn from. In what promised to be a tricky
matchup for the 21-year-old, Valanciunas held his own against the crafty
Al Jefferson offensively but was taught a lesson or two on the other end. One of
those moments occurred at the end of the extra period. Jefferson set a hard
screen that freed up Kemba Walker, forcing Valanciunas to switch off and close
out on the Bobcats guard. Walker would drain the game-winner over Valanciunas as
time expired. "Weve watched film with him [and] work on it with him
individually," Dwane Casey said after practice Thursday afternoon. "In the NBA,
a lot depends on game experience and hes seeing every different post-up
situation." Valanciunas scored 10 points and added six rebounds in 22 minutes of
action Wednesday however, Jefferson poured in 24 to go along with 11 boards,
leading the Bobcats with five points in overtime. "Hes still in the process, hes
still learning the league, learning the speed of the game and again, hes
[getting] better," Casey said, commending Valanciunas growth on the offensive
end. "I thought he did an excellent job offensively when he got his catches in
the post. Hes really grown from that standpoint." His biggest challenge
continues to come on the defensive end, where hes still being exposed by
quicker, versatile and more experienced big men. Jefferson is a nightmare
assignment for any player, let alone a young and developing big. "My whole
career, to this day, people always ask who the hardest [players] are to guard
and I surprise them every time when I tell them Al Jefferson and Zach Randolph,"
said veteran forward and new teammate Chuck Hayes, who participated in his first
full practice with the Raptors Wednesday. "For their size - theyre so wide -
theyre light on their feet and theyve got great footwork and their shooting
touch is just as good as any guard in the league." "It sucks that [Valanciunas]
went through that torture chamber in a game that we needed before this road trip
but its a learning process," Hayes continued. "Well see them again, Im sure and
hell remember that overtime where Al got the best of him." Although Valanciunas
shares the blame for what went wrong in overtime, theres plenty of it to go
around.
Jack Doyle Youth Jersey. . The Raptors, as a
team, missed their first six field goal attempts while DeMar DeRozan shot
1-of-4. You can also cut the seven-footer some slack, given the amount of time
he had spent on the bench. Valanciunas sat for over 17 minutes of game time,
including the entire fourth quarter, before coming back in to start overtime.
Facing Charlottes unconventional frontcourt of Jefferson and Josh McRoberts, a
stretch four, Valanciunas became a late-game afterthought once again, sitting
out in favour of Amir Johnson, Tyler Hansbrough, and the newly acquired
Patrick Patterson. As Casey notes, it is sometimes a give-and-take with
Valanciunas on the floor, certainly in a matchup like Wednesdays. Whatever
advantage is gained on the offensive end, assuming the team is utilizing it, is
often given right back on defence. With the game on the line, Casey - like he
has done in past - opted to play it safe with more experienced and versatile
defenders at the position. "Thats why its hard to win consistently with young
players in the NBA," said the Raptors coach. "Jonas is going to be okay but
thats the patience you have to have with a young player; take the good with the
bad." While those who expected the world from Valanciunas in his second NBA
season may be disappointed in the early returns, Casey is just as realistic as
he is optimistic. It wont happen overnight, Casey reiterates regularly. It didnt
with Tyson Chandler, it didnt with Roy Hibbert or Joakim Noah and it wont with
Valanciunas. Inevitably, developing Valanciunas will become more of a priority
now that Rudy Gay has been dealt. The challenge for Casey - who is trying to win
first and foremost, as you would expect - centres on finding that balance
between competing and nurturing the future of the franchise, a future he may not
even be a part of. "I love the challenge of coaching young players, I enjoy
that. I enjoy winning more," he said, half-jokingly. "But I understand where we
are and what were about." Valanciunas represents the future of this team more
than anyone else that is currently on the roster. The expectations, at least
internally, have not changed. The word Casey continues to stress is patience.
"Its a process," he insists. "Were patient [but] hes our guy, hes our starting
centre for a long time and were just going to have to roll with it."
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