University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Georgia Tech
Tar Heels Down Georgia Tech, 70-53
January 29, 2000 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 29, 2000
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) - Brendan Haywood, who played only six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, dominated at the start of the second to carry North Carolina to a 70-53 victory over cold-shooting Georgia Tech on Saturday.
The Tar Heels (13-8, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) are showing signs of life after a four-game losing streak. They have now won two in a row, following up a 75-63 victory over No. 22 Maryland on Thursday.
Despite having to make a 6 1/2-hour bus trip Friday when inclement weather prevented their flight to Atlanta, North Carolina looked like the rested team. The game was tied 28-28 at halftime, but Georgia Tech (9-10, 2-5) fell apart over the final 20 minutes.
The Yellow Jackets made only 9-of-41 shots (22 percent) in the second half to suffer their second straight blowout loss at home, raising questions about the future of coach Bobby Cremins. Tech was coming off a 60-46 defeat to Wake Forest.
Jason Capel led the Tar Heels with 20 points and Joseph Forte added 15. But it was Haywood who turned the tide.
The 7-foot center picked up his third foul less than eight minutes into the game and spent the remainder of the first half on the bench. Haywood returned after halftime and forgot about the fouls, scoring six points and blocking three shots in the first four minutes.
North Carolina put the game away on a couple of spectacular plays. Capel threw a long pass that set up a lay-in for Kris Lang, then Forte finished off another lob with a high-flying dunk, giving the Tar Heels a 45-32 lead. Tech never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
Haywood had 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
The Yellow Jackets pulled down 25 offensive rebounds and took 22 more shots than North Carolina. It didn't matter, since Tech made only 20-of-73 (27 percent) from the field.
Jason Collier had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Tony Akins was the only other player in double figures with 11 points.
The game was expected to be a sellout, but thousands of fans didn't show up because an ice storm struck Atlanta. Tech officials opened the doors about an hour before the game and let everyone in, whether they had a ticket or not.
