Men's Basketball Cruises Past Clemson
Article courtesy of tarheelblue.com
Posted by: Matt Estreich

Reyshawn Terry had his first career double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds to lead North Carolina past Clemson 76-61 on Saturday, allowing the Tar Heels to match an NCAA record with their 52nd straight home win in the series.

Bobby Frasor added 16 points for the Tar Heels (14-5, 5-3 ACC), who have never lost to the Tigers (14-8, 3-6) in Chapel Hill. The streak ties Princeton's 52-game run against Brown from 1929-2002 as the longest home win streak against a single opponent.

The Tigers have lost by double-digit margins in 19 of 21 trips to the Smith Center, and have led at the half just three times in the 52 losses. The Tar Heels led throughout Saturday to extend that streak and win their third in a row overall heading into Tuesday's home game against second-ranked Duke.

The Tar Heels scored the game's first 10 points to take quick control and never let the Tigers get closer than six points. North Carolina built a 17-point lead early after the break, then turned away a spirited effort by the Tigers that cut the deficit to seven.

The Tar Heels' second-half run featured David Noel's impressive tip-in slam off a missed 3-pointer and a pair of fluke baskets within a span of just three possessions.

On one, David Noel's entry pass for Tyler Hansbrough was too high and appeared to be headed out of bounds. Instead, it bounced off Hansbrough's fingertips and dropped through the net for a 60-47 lead with 9:25 left.

Then, after Noel's one-handed dunk off a missed 3 from Frasor, Frasor scored when his alley-oop pass for Marcus Ginyard on the fast break dropped in for a 64-49 lead with 7:51 left.

The lead eventually grew to 17 points, with the Tigers getting no closer than nine afterward.

The Tar Heels shot 50 percent and took a 39-29 edge on the glass, but still committed 21 turnovers.

The Tar Heels roared out of the gate by scoring on their first four possessions, starting with a score from Noel off a feed from Hansbrough against the double-team. Noel then assisted on a reverse layup by Terry and a layup for Hansbrough that led to a 3-point play.

Terry closed the run with a straightaway 3 off a feed from Wes Miller for the 10-0 lead, forcing Clemson coach Oliver Purnell to call timeout 2 minutes into the game.

Clemson got as close as 50-43 on Akin Akingbala's alley-oop slam off a feed from Julius Powell with 12:26 to play, but the Tar Heels answered with a 16-7 spurt to restore the lead.