University of North Carolina Athletics
On This Date With The Tar Heels...
January 8, 2002 | General
December 29
1982--Perkins, Peterson Star in Rainbow Classic
HONOLULU--Sam Perkins scored 23 points and grabbed 17 rebounds, while Michael Jordan scored 22 as North Carolina defeated Oklahoma, 77-69, in the semifinals of the Rainbow Class at NBC Arena.
Carolina led almost the entire game and five times built 19-point leads in the first half.
Oklahoma slowly cut into that lead in the second half and trailed just 70-65 with 2:36 to play. But, Jordan, Jim Braddock and Matt Doherty hit big free throws down the stretch and Perkins had a dunk for the final eight-point spread.
The Tar Heels jumped to their first-half lead by shooting 55.9 percent in the opening period. Perkins had 14 points and Jordan had 12 in the first 20 minutes as UNC finished with a 43-28 lead at intermission.
Carolina outscored the Sooners, 20-4, in a five-minute stretch to take a 28-10 lead with 10:04 to go in the half. Jordan had 10 points during this run and Perkins added six.
Wayman Tisdale fueled Oklahoma's second-half comeback by scoring 22 of his 26 points in the final 20 minutes. David Little finished with 17 points for Oklahoma.
Braddock was the only other Carolina player in double figures with 11.
December 28
1979-- A Gator Bowl Win Over Michigan
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.-- North Carolina drove 97 yards in the third quarter for a go-ahead touchdown and then made the big plays defensively to defeat Michigan, 17-15, in the Gator Bowl.
A crowd of 70, 407 saw Matt Kupec direct the 16-play, 97-yard drive against one of the nation's top defenses. Kupec completed five of seven passes in the drive, including a 12-yarder to Phil Farris for the score. Jeff Hayes' PAT gave Carolina a 14-9 lead.
Michigan tried to strike back, but an opportunistic Tar Heel defense forced four turnovers in the Wolverines' next five possessions. Larry Winters and Darrell Nicholson had interceptions and Paul Davis and Lawrence Taylor recovered fumbles in that stretch.
Meanwhile, Carolina added a 32-yard field goal by Hayes to increase the lead to 17-9. That field goal was set up when Davis downed a Steve Streater punt at the Michigan one-yard line. The Wolverines could only advance two yards in three plays and had to punt, giving the Tar Heels excellent field position. After one first down, Hayes booted his field goal.
Michigan got a touchdown pass from B.J. Dickey to Anthony Carter with just 1:28 left, but a two-point pass fell incomplete.
An onsides kick failed to go 10 yards and Carolina got possession. Streater, who had a great night kicking, then sealed the win by pushing the Wolverines deep into their own territory with a 51-yard punt.
Michigan led 9-0 midway in the second quarter, but Carolina dominated play the rest of the way. The Wolverine scores came on a Bryan Virgil field goal and a 53-yard pass from John Wangler to Carter.
Carolina cut that lead to 9-7 with 4:46 remaining in the half by driving 58 yards in eight plays. The key play was a 17-yard pass from Kupec to Jeff Grey on a third-and-eight situation. That put the ball on the Michigan one and Doug Paschal scored from there.
Kupec and tailback Amos Lawrence were named the co-MVPs of the game. Kupec completed 18 of 28 passes for 161 yards. Lawrence ran for 118 yards on 23 carries and caught five passes for 38 yards.
The Tar Heel defensive standouts were Taylor, tackle Donnell Thompson and linebacker Buddy Curry.
December 27
1997--Georgia Falls in Overtime, 82-80
ATHENS, Ga.--Antawn Jamison scored 26 points and Ademola Okulaja and Vince Carter made two of the biggest plays as North Carolina edged Georgia, 82-20, in overtime at Stegeman Coliseum.
Georgia led most of the second half and had a 67-57 advantage with seven minutes to play. The lead was still 73-66 with 2:23 remaining.
However, a tight Carolina defense did not allow another Bulldog point in regulation. In addition, Georgia missed three free throws down the stretch and the Tar Heels' pressure defense forced a shot clock violation.
Carolina rallied on a short jumper by Carter at 1:54 and a tip-in by Okulaja with 1:44 on the clock. Okulaja added one of two free throws to cut the lead to two with 1:16 left.
With 25.3 seconds left, Okulaja was fouled in the act of shooting and canned both foul shots to force overtime.
A three-pointer by Okulaja and a pair of Jamison free throws gave the Tar Heels a five-point lead in the extra period. But Georgia responded with a three-pointer and dunk to tie the game.
Ed Cota and Jumaine Jones each made a pair of free throws for an 80-80 tie with 31 seconds left. Carter then took a great pass from Cota for the winning basket with 3.2 seconds to go.
In addition to his game-high 26 points, Jamison added 11 rebounds. Carter had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Cota finished with 12 points and Shammond Williams added 10.
December 26
1981--Worthy, Perkins and Jordan Star Against Kentucky
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.--James Worthy, Sam Perkins and Michael Jordan all scored at least 20 points as North Carolina topped Kentucky, 82-69, at the Byrne Meadowlands Arena.
Worthy had 26 points and Perkins and Jordan added 21 each as the Tar Heels scored an impressive early-season win.
Worthy hit 10 of 16 shots from the floor and was six-for six from the foul line. Erkins made seven of 13 field goal attempts and seven of eight free throws. Jordan hit nine of 14 shots and three of six free throws.
After a close first half in which the biggest lead was a five-point UNC cushion, the Tar Heels began to take charge in the final 20 minutes. Worthy had 18 of his points in the first half as Carolina led 38-35 at the break.
Carolina built that lead to nine by scoring the first six points after intermission. Jordan and Worthy scored off offensive rebounds and Perkins tossed in a soft hook as the Tar Heel edge increased to 44-35.
Two jumpers by Jordan and one by Jimmy Black helped extend that to 15 at 57-42 with 11:42 to go.
The Wildcats never got closer than eight the rest of the game. Carolina used great inside passing by Worthy, Black, Jordan and Matt Doherty to get a number of easy shots down the stretch. Perkins was great on defense with 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
The Tar Heels shot 53.2 percent from the floor and outrebounded Kentucky, 37-25.
The Wildcat scoring was led by Charles Hurt with 18.
December 25
1982--Carolina Beats Texas and Weather in Sun Bowl
EL PASO, Texas--North Carolina overcame a 10-3 halftime deficit, an injury to tailback Kelvin Bryant and severe weather conditions to stun seventh-ranked Texas, 26-10, in the Sun Bowl.
Texas took advantage of two Tar Heel mistakes to grab its halftime lead. However, after intermission, Carolina used its kicking game, the running of Ethan Horton and a sensational defense to score its fourth straight bowl win.
A key factor in this game was the weather. Temperature at kickoff time was 35 degrees with winds gusting up to 35 miles an hour. The wind chill factor was 12 degrees.
In addition, snow fell throughout the game and the full force of a winter blizzard struck in the game's closing moments.
Those conditions ruined the passing attacks of both teams and put a premium on defense and the kicking game. Carolina excelled in both areas during the second half.
Texas had taken an early lead by recovering a blocked punt for a first quarter touchdown. Carolina got its only points of the half on its next possession with Rob Rogers tying a school record with a 53-yard field goal.
A Carolina fumble on its next possession gave the Longhorns great field position. But, Willie Harris dropped Ervin Davis for a four-yard loss on a big first-down play and Texas had to settle for a field goal.
Another goal line stand in the third period began to shift the game's momentum. Texas drove to the shadow of the UNC goal. On third down at the one-yard line, Davis was stopped for no gain. Then on fourth down, Greg Poole again stopped Davis for no gain.
That came with 9:36 left in the third quarter. Following that series, Texas had minus 15 yards of offense the rest of the game.
Offensively, Horton began to assert himself at tailback. With Bryant out and Tyrone Anthony nursing sore ribs, Horton and fullback Eddie Colson did the majority of the second-half running. Horton had 27 carries for 119 yards, all in the second half.
The Tar Heels drove from their own 18 to the Texas 30 with 14:51 to play. Horton had 49 yards on that march which ended with Rogers kicking a 47-yard field goal.
Carolina then caught Texas by surprise with an onsides kick that Rogers recovered at the Longhorn 47. After gaining seven yards on three plays, Carolina then faked a punt and Micah Moon got the first-down yardage. UNC got to the Texas six, but had to settle for a 24-yard field goal from Brooks Barwick.
A poor punt got Carolina going again after the next Longhorn series. Seven plays later, Carolina took the lead, 12-10, on a 42-yard field goal by Barwick.
Chris ward then intercepted a Todd Dodge pass at the Texas 30, setting up a three-yard TD run by Horton.
Carolina added an insurance score on the following Longhorn series when Moon blasted Dodge as he dropped back to pass from his own 22. That caused a fumble that Mike Wilcher recovered in the end zone for the final touchdown.
December 24
1974-Walter Davis Sparks Win in Spain
MADRID-Walter Davis scored 24 points as North Carolina toppled Estudiantes de Monteverde, 109-82, in the first round of the Real Madrid International Christmas Tournament.
Five Carolina players scored in double figures as the Tar Heels used a 12-2 run in the first half to take control of the game.
Carolina was forced to play without star center Mitch Kupchak, who was sidelined with a back injury. UNC Coach Dean Smith indicated Kupchak could miss the entire tournament.
Carolina led much of the first half until the Spaniards took a brief 25-23 lead midway through the opening period. That's when Ed Stahl and Phil Ford sparked the 12-2 outburst. Although Estudiantes only trailed 52-44 at the half, the Tar Heels were never really threatened again.
LaGarde had 13 of his 17 points in the first half, while Ford added 10 and was outstanding on the defensive end.
LaGarde and Ed Stahl controlled the backboards in the opening moments of the second half as Carolina began to pull away. LaGarde's rebounding was a big factor after Stahl fouled out with 14 minutes to play. It was his rebounding that set up a number of fast break baskets for Carolina.
Davis had 18 of his 24 points in the second half, scoring inside, as well as hitting some long jumpers.
In a balanced attack, LaGarde finished with 17 points, Brad Hoffman had 16, Ford had 14 and Stahl added 13.
December 23
1977--Tar Heels Outscore Tulane, 108-103
NEW ORLEANS--Mike O'Koren and Al Wood each scored 21 points as North Carolina outlasted Tulane, 108-103, in a high-scoring battle at The Superdome.
The Tar Heels led for the last 31 minutes of the game, but could never put the Green Wave completely away. Carolina built a 15-point lead, 69-54, on a steal and dunk by Wood with 15:17 to play. That lead was still 12 points, 98-86, after a Jeff Wolf dunk with 3:59 remaining. ut, Tulane clawed back to within striking distance behind the scoring of Pierre Gaudin and Marc Fletcher. Gary Lorio's tip-in with 56 seconds to go cut the UNC advantage to104-100. But, O'Koren and Dave Colescott each made a pair of free throws in the final 36 seconds to hold off the Green Wave.
Carolina shot 64.1 percent from the floor, including70.0 percent in the second half. However, with Gaudin scoring 32 points and Charles Zuniga adding 20, the Tar Heels couldn't shake Tulane.
Carolina got 15 points and seven assist from Phil Ford, 15 points from Tom Zaliagiris and 14 from Dudley Bradley. In addition to his 21 points, O'Koren grabbed nine rebounds and handed out six assists.
1989--Carolina Pulls Away From Kansas State
CHARLOTTE, N.C.--Rick Fox scored 19 points and King Rice had seven assists as North Carolina outscored Kansas State, 27-14, in the last 9:31 for a 79-63 victory at the Charlotte Coliseum.
Carolina was leading just 52-49 when Rice hit Fox for an open three-pointer at the 9:31 mark. After Jean Derouillere
Scored from the lane for the Wildcats, Fox got a conventional three-point play when he was fouled on a driving dunk and added the free throw. Fox scored on another drive with 6:22 left for a 60-51 lead.
After a Kevin Madden layup with 3:40 left, the Tar Heels scored 11 straight points on free throws to put Kansas State away.
Scott Williams had 15 points for Carolina and Madden added 12. A major factor in this game was the Tar Heels hitting 21 of 26 free throws.
