Jan. 8, 2005

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Rashad McCants scored 19 points to lead seven players in double figures Saturday and No. 3 North Carolina routed No. 22 Maryland 109-75.

Raymond Felton added 12 points and six assists for the Tar Heels (13-1, 2-0 ACC), who have won 13 straight games - most by lopsided margins - since a loss to Santa Clara in the season opener. Sean May had 14, while reserve Reyshawn Terry added 11 and keyed a 29-5 run spanning halftime that gave the Tar Heels a huge lead.

Chris McCray and Travis Garrison each scored 13 for the Terrapins (9-3, 1-1), who led midway through the first half with an aggressive defense that created numerous turnovers. But once the Tar Heels stopped making mistakes, they turned the game into a display of their romping, up-tempo offense.

The Tar Heels shot 57 percent and led by as many as 42 points. They went 10-for-20 from 3-point range, had a 49-28 rebounding edge and held the Terrapins to 38 percent shooting.

North Carolina has now cracked the 100-point mark three straight times, the first time that has happened since the Tar Heels' national title season in 1992-93.

The Terrapins led by five with about nine minutes left in the first half, but nothing went right after that. That included Nik Caner-Medley's shorts, which were on backward the entire game and drew mocking chants from the raucous student section.

By the start of the second half, the Tar Heels had thoroughly dismantled their ranked conference opponent, adding Maryland to a growing list of easy wins. North Carolina had won its last six games by an average of 36 points per game.

Maryland led 29-24 on Gilchrist's jumper, but North Carolina's defense finally started forcing turnovers and denying penetration. Maryland went 1-for-11 the rest of the half and had six turnovers.

After McCray stripped McCants of the ball on the wing, coach Roy Williams pulled his star in favor of Terry, a 6-foot-7 sophomore who averaged about two points and five minutes per game.

Terry quickly responded, hitting a jumper in the lane to start the big run. Shortly after, Terry tipped out a rebound to save the possession, then sunk a 3-pointer for a 32-30 lead that had the fans chanting his name.

From there, Felton got the Tar Heels going, assisting on a transition slam by Jawad Williams and scoring a layup off an alley-oop pass by McCants off a turnover.

The Tar Heels led 47-34 at the break. They opened the second half with four three-point plays in the first 3 1/2 minutes by pushing the ball upcourt, taking a 20-point lead that would only grow as the game continued.

AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer