University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
No Carolina St
Tar Heels Edge Rival N.C. State
June 21, 1999 | Men's Basketball
January 16, 1999
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Maybe Brendan Haywood was saving his best for the game.
Haywood, the second-leading scorer and rebounder for No. 9 North Carolina, was relegated to the bench against archrival N.C. State after a few poor days of practice.
Instead of sulking, the 7-foot sophomore center responded in a big way, scoring 16 points and coming up with three key blocks late in the game as the Tar Heels edged the Wolfpack 59-56 Saturday night in their last meeting at Reynolds Coliseum.
Haywood's size ended up making a huge difference for the Tar Heels (15-4, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won at Reynolds for the third straight time.
"I wanted to come in and establish myself," Haywood said. "I don't feel like I had anything to prove to coach (Bill) Guthridge. Coach knows what I can do. I had to prove to myself that I was a good player and a force to be reckoned with in this league."
The Wolfpack (11-6, 2-4), who shot 27 percent in the first half, fell to 1-4 this season against ranked opponents.
"I think State is an NCAA team and to get a win here is key," said Guthridge. "Any road win for any of us other than Maryland and Duke is a great win to help us get into the NCAAs."
N.C. State went seven minutes without a basket down the stretch before Tim Wells hit a shot in the lane with 50.2 seconds left. Wells almost sent the game to overtime, but his half-court shot at the buzzer hit off the front of the rim as the Tar Heels evened their all-time record at Reynolds at 29-29.
The last game between the archrivals in the 50-year-old arena drew a record crowd of 12,852, bettering the old mark of 12,731 against Kansas in 1988. The Wolfpack's new arena is expected to be ready in September.
"I'm sure we'll have nail-biters in the new building," Guthridge said.
N.C. State trailed by seven at halftime, but Wells scored 11 of the Wolfpack's points in a 13-2 run, hitting three straight 3-pointers for a 30-27 lead. That spurt came after the Wolfpack had gone 2-for-13 from long range in the opening half.
The lead then changed hands seven times before Ronald Curry's 3-pointer with 4:40 left gave North Carolina the lead for good at 50-48.
Adam Harrington, who went 0-for-5 from 3-point range in the first half, sank five from behind the arc in the second half - including two in the final 25 seconds - to cut North Carolina's six-point lead to 58-56.
Ed Cota then missed a pair of free throws, but Harrington's off-balance 3-pointer with eight seconds left missed and Cota went to the line again, where he sank one of two.
Harrington finished with 19 points.
"We hope Adam can build off of this performance," Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek said of his slumping freshman. "He made some big shots for us down the stretch."
Neither team led by more than four in the opening 13 1/2 minutes before the Tar Heels went on a 10-0 run behind Haywood and the Wolfpack went cold from the field. Haywood scored six points during the spurt and Ademola Okulaja capped the run with a three-point play as North Carolina grabbed a 25-17 lead 2:07 before halftime.
The Wolfpack was 1-for-11 over the final 6:27, missing five 3-pointers as Haywood patrolled the middle.
Vasco Evtimov returned for North Carolina following an 18-game NCAA suspension for what was termed "a competitive advantage" while playing for a club team this summer in France. The 6-foot-10 sophomore had one point and two rebounds in 12 minutes.
