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North Carolina
Rutgers (Preseason NIT)
Tar Heels Rally To Beat Rutgers In Preseason NIT, 71-67
November 20, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Nov 20, 2002
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By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - North Carolina's early season confidence builder meant a berth in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT.
Rashad McCants scored eight of his 18 points over the final 6:25 and North Carolina rallied for a 71-67 victory over Rutgers on Wednesday night to improve to 12-2 all-time in the tournament.
The Tar Heels, despite 20 turnovers, are off to a 2-0 start off last season's worst-ever 8-20 record and now head to Madison Square Garden in New York. On Nov. 27, North Carolina will face the winner of Friday night's second-round game between N.C.-Greensboro and No. 2 Kansas.
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I'm so proud of my young team, the poise they showed when they could have easily folded.
Head coach Matt Doherty
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"I'm so proud of my young team, the poise they showed when they could have easily folded," Doherty said. "They are fighters and they hung in there and hung in there and hung in there and made plays - in spite of ourselves at times. It's nice to gut it out."
Rutgers (1-1) led 59-48 with 7:26 left, but fell apart down the stretch against a North Carolina lineup of three freshmen and two sophomores.
"I told the team at one point that Carolina is known for comebacks," Doherty said as the Tar Heels closed with a 23-8 run. "This may not rate as one of the best comebacks in Carolina history, but it's the best comeback for this team."
McCants, who scored 28 points in his collegiate debut in a 30-point win over Penn State on Monday night, was quiet most of the night before his late heroics.
In fact, Doherty took MCants out of the game in the first half after a series of poor decisions.
"I was playing outside of my game and I had to regroup and play for the team," said McCants, who is 18-for-27 from the field in two games. "That's what I did and we came out and won."
A fastbreak slam by McCants brought the Tar Heels to 67-65 with 2:48 left and his two free throws with 9.2 seconds left helped seal it after Jawad Williams' go-ahead layup with 31 seconds remaining.
Sean May led the Tar Heels with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Williams added 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Herve Lamizana scored a career-high 20 points and Ricky Shields also had 20 for Rutgers, but leading scorer Jerome Coleman was 2-of-18 from the field and had five points.
"I felt like every time he caught the ball I was there," North Carolina's Jackie Manuel said of his defensive pressure on Coleman. "He told me in the game, `Is this like the plan, for you to just guard me face-to-face the whole night?' I was like, `I guess so."'
Scarlet Knights coach Gary Waters used the last of his timeouts with five minutes left and could do nothing but watch his team lose the lead down the stretch.
"This is a game we should have won and we let it get away from us," Waters said. "We outplayed that team for 30 minutes and 10 minutes we crumbled."
Lamizana scored 13 points over a seven-minute span of the second half as Rutgers built a three-point lead to a 57-46 advantage with 8:20 left.
 North Carolina's Raymond Felton celebrates as time expires in North Carolina's 71-67 win over Rutgers. |
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The Scarlet Knights started 1-for-8 from 3-point range, but made seven of eight over one stretch to stay in the game in the second half.
The Tar Heels ran into a little more defensive opposition than in their 85-55 blowout of Penn State as North Carolina turned it over 12 times in the opening 20 minutes.
Doherty slammed his fist on the scorer's table after Raymond Felton threw a pass away less than six minutes in as the Tar Heels scored on just two of their first 14 possessions.
Felton, with 10 assists in his collegiate debut, had five turnovers by the half in this one and finished with seven giveaways and nine assists.
McCants also got off to a rough start. After making his first seven shots in the opener, the freshman began 1-for-4 with two missed free throws as North Carolina's offense sputtered.
That was in sharp contrast to its opener when North Carolina scored on 12 of its first 15 possessions in building a 25-point halftime lead.
