University of North Carolina Athletics
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UNC Shows It's Capel-Able In 92-76 Win Over Saint Joseph's
December 22, 2001 | Men's Basketball
Dec 22, 2001
By JENNA FRYER
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The key for North Carolina to start winning was simply to make basketball fun again.
North Carolina coach Matt Doherty tried to do that with a lighthearted shootaround Saturday that loosened up the Tar Heels and primed them for their 92-76 upset over No. 15 Saint Joseph's in the consolation game of the Hardee's Tournament of Champions.
"I did some stupid things to get them excited," said Doherty, who lost a bet that he could hit a half-court shot and had to run the length of the court and back in 20 seconds.
"My lungs about burst, but I tried to make it a lighter atmosphere, a more positive atmosphere, and that's hard to do when you are 2-5. It's tough to be upbeat, but I thought if we were, we had a chance."
The Tar Heels (3-5) had more than a chance. They dominated the game, leading the entire way while setting season-high marks for points scored and shooting percentage (53).
It helped them salvage the tournament, which the Tar Heels had won nine previous times. But a loss to College of Charleston on Friday night sent them to the consolation game for the first time since they became a regular participant in 1992.
"I was embarrassed - College of Charleston outrebounded us, pushed us around and kind of manhandled us," said senior Jason Capel, who had 21 points and a career-high 16 rebounds.
"So this is my way of avenging that."
Brian Morrison added 19 points for North Carolina. Brian Bersticker scored 12, while Jackie Manuel and Jawad Williams each had 11.
Jameer Nelson scored 22 points for Saint Joseph's (6-3), which had a disappointing run in the tournament. Along with the loss to the struggling Tar Heels, the Hawks became the first-ever ranked opponent to lose to Georgia State.
ut Saint Joseph's was more upset with the officiating, which coach Phil Martelli said turned against them in the first half.
"Some of the calls made in the first half were made in resentment," said Martelli, who claimed it turned that way when he began badgering the officials for explanations on certain calls.
"They had no idea on some of them," he said, adding that the officials were "clueless on one particular play."
Even center Damian Reid wasn't surprised the Hawks lost.
"North Carolina needed a win really bad, we were in their home state with their refs, so we can't be mad at the outcome," said Reid, who scored 11 points. "A lot of those calls were questionable, but what are you going to do besides try to play through it? We couldn't."
oth teams were minus their leading scorer. Saint Joseph's was without star Marvin O'Connor and his 19.8 points a game because he broke a toe on Friday night, while North Carolina forward Kris Lang, averaging 14.3 points, sat out with a strained ligament in his knee.
While Saint Joseph's struggled to find offense without O'Connor, the Tar Heels thrived without Lang, whose presence in the lineup usually requires a slow, deliberate scheme. Without him, North Carolina was able to push the ball and use a running offense for the first time all year.
ersticker replaced Lang in the lineup, shooting 5-for-6 from the floor and scoring eight straight points in the second half to put the Tar Heels up 68-52.
The quicker tempo helped them build a 13-point lead in the first half and score a season-high 47 points in the period.
Not helping matters for the Hawks was the ejection of starting forward Bill Phillips, who was thrown out with 9:54 to go in the first half for throwing a punch at Orlando Melendez.
Phillips insisted he didn't throw a punch and Martelli, who had an excellent view of the play, said it only looked like the two players were tangled together with arms flailing as they tried to break free.
"I definitely didn't throw a punch and I'm pretty confident if they review it they'll see that I didn't do it," Phillips said. "I'm not a dirty player, but I'm going to defend myself, and this wasn't that."
Things then got a little dicey when the officials stopped to watch a replay of Phillips' infraction and Martelli took offense to Doherty yelling something to a Saint Joseph assistant. Players from both teams rushed in between the two coaches and the pro-Carolina crowd jumped to its feet in support of the Tar Heels.
The officials brought the two together before play resumed, but Martelli's temper didn't cool - he was hit with his own technical with 40 seconds to play in the half and Carolina leading 44-28.
