University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
St. John's (ECAC Holiday Fest.)
No. 22 Tar Heels Rebound Over St. John's, 63-59
December 28, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec 28, 2002
By JIM O'CONNELL
AP Basketball Writer
NEW YORK - It wasn't a normal pregame preparation for North Carolina but it worked.
The 22nd-ranked Tar Heels, playing less than 24 hours after losing to Iona, rebounded Saturday with a 63-59 victory over St. John's in the consolation game of the Holiday Festival.
North Carolina had a season-high 23 turnovers and shot just 32 percent in the 65-56 opening-round loss Friday night, and lost freshman center Sean May, its second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, to a broken foot early in the second half.
Suddenly, the program's turnaround season from the worst record in school history appeared to be on the cusp of some serious trouble.
"We had a 45-minute session this morning, showed them the film of last night and had a little shootaround with the coaches involved," North Carolina coach Matt Doherty said. "Kids are more resilient than coaches and they were able to change gears and get back on track."
Rashad McCants scored 21 points, including the clinching free throws with 5.6 seconds to play, and Jawad Williams, who missed Friday's game with a stomach virus, had 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels (8-3), who matched last season's victory total.
Raymond Felton, like McCants a freshman, had 11 points and nine assists for the Tar Heels, who were 8-20 last season, the worst record in school history.
May, the team's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, was missed inside as St. John's outrebounded the Tar Heels 54-40. May, who was hurt early in the second half against Iona, will have surgery Monday.
"St. John's rebounding impressed me," Doherty said. "We're going to all have to find a way to make up for Sean's absence."
Marcus Hatten, who was held to a season-low 11 points in the 72-65 opening-round loss to Manhattan, had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Storm (5-3), who have lost three straight.
oth teams struggled from the field with North Carolina's 34 percent (21-for-61) bettering the 28 percent (20-for-71) by St. John's.
"Both teams, with little preparation time coming off two awful games, played with a lot of heart and determination," St. John's coach Mike Jarvis said.
North Carolina took the lead for good at 32-29 on a 3-pointer by Williams at the halftime buzzer. The Tar Heels' biggest lead was 53-46 with 5:27 left on a spin move by McCants. St. John's closed to 57-55 with 3:06 left on rebound basket by Eric King.
McCants converted his own miss with 2:47 to play, North Carolina's last field goal of the game. But the Red Storm couldn't take advantage and got only a field goal over the same span, a drive by Hatten with 6.6 seconds left that made it 61-59.
McCants went to the line one second later and made both free throws for the final margin.
"All I thought about was putting the game away," McCants said. "There was no doubt in my mind I was going to make those free throws."
Melvin Scott, who missed the first-round game for violating a team rule, had three points for the Tar Heels.
 Rashad McCants  |
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Williams said he felt like he let his teammates down by missing the game.
"I was really sick and then it was worse because I couldn't get the game on TV in the hotel so I had to keep up with it on the ticker at the bottom of the screen," he said. "I'm still feeling the effects but there was no way I wasn't going to play after we lost."
Doherty couldn't say enough about the sophomore forward.
"Jawad has become the leader for us," Doherty said. "You saw a different team with him on the floor."
Elijah Ingram had 14 points and Kyle Cuffe added six points and 12 rebounds for St. John's, which went 0-2 in the Festival for the first time since 1955. St. John's was making its 37th appearance in the 50 tournaments held at Madison Square Garden and it has 12 titles.
"I know we're going to be able to build on today," Jarvis said. "There are a lot of things we can take away from this experience that will make us a better basketball team as the season progresses. You have to learn to get back up. You have to relearn and confirm the reasons why you play this game."
