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University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Clemson
No. 6 Tar Heels Trounce Tigers, 92-65
January 17, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2001
By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Don't expect No. 6 North Carolina to start beating teams from the outside. Coach Matt Doherty will make sure that doesn't happen.
But the Tar Heels, with one of the biggest front lines in college basketball, proved again Wednesday night they can attack from beyond the arc.
Joseph Forte scored 14 points and the streaking Tar Heels had a season-high 12 3-pointers in a 92-65 victory over Clemson - running their home mark to 47-0 all-time against the Tigers.
A week ago, North Carolina went 10-of-16 from 3-point range in a three-point win at Maryland.
"I guess people feel we can't shoot," 7-foot center Brendan Haywood said of Clemson's sagging zone. "A lot of people dare us to shoot it. If they don't believe we can shoot just get the Maryland tape."
Doherty wasn't necessarily pleased with his team's season-high 27 3-point attempts.
"It's hard because they were giving us the 3s, they wanted us to shoot the 3s as opposed to going inside to Brendan," Doherty said. "We needed to get the ball inside first.
"Some of them are very tough to turn down. It's more of a mind game. Do I shoot or do I pass?"
The win by North Carolina (14-2) was its 11th straight overall and tied it with No. 2 Duke for the Atlantic Coast Conference lead at 4-0. The winning streak is its best since starting the 1997-98 season 17-0.
"We were obviously consumed with talent tonight," Clemson coach Larry Shyatt said. "I thought Carolina beat us in every phase of the game."
North Carolina's previous season high for 3-pointers was 11 against Appalachian State on Nov. 17, and it was only the third game this season the Tar Heels have hit more than nine from beyond the arc.
Clemson (10-7, 1-3) has lost 21 of 24 overall against North Carolina since the 1990-91 season and fell to 0-16 in the Smith Center.
"The coaches really tried not to let us think about the streak at all," North Carolina forward Jason Capel said. "All the talk about that is just going to motivate (Clemson) even more."
Will Solomon scored 15 points in the game's opening 11:39 for the Tigers, but got just two the rest of the way to finish with 17, extending his streak of double-digit scoring to 46 straight.
North Carolina students greeted Clemson during introductions with chants of "You can't win here."
Once again, it was appropriate.
The Tigers fell behind by double digits in the first half as the Tar Heels were 8-for-15 from 3-point range, getting long-range shots from six players as Clemson's zone proved ineffective.
"I thought the plan was marvelous, but if more than one starts dropping jump shots the plan has some flaws," Shyatt said. "And on the other end the pressure complicates things further."
The Tar Heels then polished it off in the opening five minutes of the second half, going on a 16-2 run. Forte scored the first six points of the spurt with three free throws and a 3-pointer, and Capel added a shot from beyond the arc for a 60-33 lead.
Shyatt confronted official Ted Valentine near midcourt as a technical was called on Clemson assistant coach Bruce Martin. Heated words were exchanged between the two after the Tar Heels blocked four shots to turn the momentum.
"Bruce Martin said two words, `That's taunting,"' Shyatt said. "I have no more comment."
North Carolina has beaten the Tigers at home by double digits in 17 of the last 18 meetings.
The 47-game home streak is the nation's second longest. Princeton has beaten rown 50 straight times since 1929 and they meet at Princeton on Feb. 2.
