On This Date In Carolina History...

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1991--Lacrosse Team Defeats Maryland, 8-6
COLLEGE PARK, Md.-- Second-ranked North Carolina got goals from seven different players and defeated Maryland, 8-6, at Byrd Stadium.

The victory left the Tar Heels with a 6-0 record, while the sixth-ranked Terps fell to 5-1.

Both teams played brilliant defensively in a 2-2 first half. In just over a minute into the third period, Mark Douglas had two goals push Maryland in front. However, the Tar Heels scored three times near the end of the quarter on goals by Jim Buczek, Dan Donnelly and Donnie McNichol to take the lead.

Maryland tied the game, 5-5, just 1:52 into the fourth period on the third goal of the day by Douglas. Two minutes later Carolina regained the lead when attackman Dennis Goldstein fired a shot past Terp goalie Mike Kavovit. Mike Acee made that a 7-5 advantage when he scored with just three minutes to play.

Erik Elfstrum made it 7-6 with only 36 seconds remaining when he scored for the Terps. But, Goldstein finished the scoring with only seven seconds on the clock with his second goal of the day forCarolina.

March 29

1982-- An NCAA Title at The Superdome
NEW ORLEANS-- James Worthy scored 28 points and Michael Jordan hit a late jump shot for the winning field goal as North Carolina edged Georgetown, 63-62, in the NCAA championship game at The Superdome in New Orleans.

Worthy, the Final Four MVP, was brilliant as he hit 13 of 17 shots from the floor and had three steals. Jordan, playing probably the best all-around game of his freshman season, nailed a 17-footer from the left of the key with 17 seconds remaining to give Carolina its final 63-62 advantage.

The Tar Heels got the ball back moments later when the Hoyas' Fred Brown saw Worthy out of the corner of his eye, mistook for one of his teammates and pitched the ball to him. The Tar Heel forward tried to dribble out the clock, but was fouled with two seconds left. Although he missed both free throws, Sleepy Floyd's long throw was way short of the Georgetown basket.

Jordan finished with 16 points and Sam Perkins had 10.

Patrick Ewing had 23 points to lead the Hoyas. He was called for goaltending on each of Carolina's first four baskets as he tried to intimidate the Tar Heels inside. Floyd added 18 for Georgetown.

Attendance was 61, 612--largest crowd ever to see a basketball game in the world.

This was an extremely well-played game with the Hoyas leading, 32-31, at halftime. The biggest lead in the game was six points by Georgetown in the first 20 minutes. The two teams committed only 25 total tuurnovers. The Tar Heels shot 53.2 percent from the floor and the Hoyas hit 52.9 percent of their shots.

A sensational high arching left-handed layup by Jordan over Ewing with 3:26 left gave Carolina a three-point advantage, 61-58. But, Ewing scored on a jumper from the lane on Georgetown's next possession. After a missed UNC free throw, Floyd hit a 10-foot jump shot to give the Hoyas a 62-61 lead.

Tar Heel Coach Dean Smith called timeout with 32 seconds left to set up a play. Jordan got the shot with Worthy and Sam Perkins crashing the boards for an offensive rebound. But, there wasn't a rebound as the freshman guard swished the open shot.

March 28

1993--Williams, Phelps, Lynch Spark Win Over Bearcats
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.-- Sensational defense by Derrick Phelps, the scoring of Donald Williams and great all-around play by George Lynch helped North Carolina defeat Cincinnati, 75-68, in an overtime East Regional championship at The Meadowlands.

The victory sends Carolina to The Superdome in New Orleans for the Final Four.

Phelps only scored three points, but may have been the central figure in the win. The Bearcats' Nick Van Exel scorched the Tar Heels for 21 first-half points as his team had a 37-36 lead at intermission. Cincinnati led by 15 points at one time before Carolina rallied in the final seven minutes of the half.

However, Tar Heel Coach Dean Smith assigned Phelps to only guard Van Exel in the second half and to ignore UNC's normal changing defenses. Van Exel scored just two points the rest of the way, hitting only one of 10 shots.

Lynch finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, while Williams added 20 points for Carolina. Eric Montross also was in double figures with 15.

Neither team led by more than four points in the second half with Cincinnati tying the game, 66-66, on Tarrance Gibson's driving layup with 35.4 seconds to play.

Corie Blount gave Cincinnati a quick 68-66 lead in overtime, but the Bearcats never scored again as they missed their last eight shots. Carolina quickly tied the game when Brian Reese fed Lynch for a layup. Then Phelps found Williams open for a three-pointer and the lead. A steal by Lynch led to another Williams three-pointer, basically sealing the outcome.

March 27

1959--Burgwyn's Single Beats Gators
TALLAHASSEE, Fla.-- Rightfielder Johnny Burgwyn smacked a two-out single in the bottom of the ninth inning to drive home the winning run and give North Carolina a 7-6 victory over Florida in the Florida State Baseball Tournament.

Burgwyn's base-hit capped a two-run rally in the ninth for Carolina. Florida had just taken a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth on a leadoff home run by Mickey Ellenburg.But, Coach Walter Rabb's Tar Heels battled back to raise their season record to 4-0.

Righthander Wayne Young went the distance for Carolina. He gave up 11 Florida hits, but only two of the six runs off him were earned. He walked three and struck out eight.

March 26

1977--O'Koren Sparks Win Over UNLV
ATLANTA-- Freshman Mike O'Koren scored a season-high 31 points as injury-riddled North Carolina edged Nevada-Las Vegas, 84-83, in the NCAA semi-finals at The Omni.

Carolina went into this game without center Tommy LaGarde, sidelined with a knee injury. In addition, Walter Davis played with a broken finger from the ACC Tournament and Phil Ford with a hyper-extended elbow suffered in the East Regionals.

However, Davis and Ford joined O'Koren in having sensational performances. Davis was seven of seven from the floor and scored 19 points. Ford had 12 points and 10 assists. O'Koren hit 14 of 19 field goal attempts and grabbed eight rebounds.

Rich Yonakor contributed five-of-seven shooting from the field, 11 points and nine rebounds. The Tar Heels out-rebounded the Rebels, 41-29, and shot 58.9 percent from the floor.

UNLV led, 49-43, at halftime and increased that to a 10-point advantage, 55-45, with 18:42 remaining in the game.

Carolina then scored 14 straight points to grab a 59-55 lead. O'Koren had five points and Yonakor added four in this stretch as the Tar Heels hit seven of their first eight second-half shots. Carolina, in fact, shot 70.0 percent from the floor in the final 20 minutes.

Great passes from Ford to O'Koren for backdoor dunks eventually gave Carolina an eight-point lead. UNLV cut that to two and had the ball. But, O'Koren rebounded a missed shot by Robert Smith. John Kuester then made five of six free throws in the final 59 seconds to secure the win.

March 25

1995--Kentucky Falls in Regional Finals
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.-- North Carolina held Kentucky to 28.0 percent shooting from the floor and defeated the Wildcats, 74-61, in the Southeast Regional Finals at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center.

Donald Williams and Jerry Stackhouse each scored 18 points to lead the Tar Heel attack. Stackhouse also topped the team in rebounds with 12 and assists (six).

The Wildcats actually led most of the first half. But, Carolina outscored Kentucky, 8-2, over the last 4:15 of the half to take a 34-31 lead. Serge Zwikker and Jeff McInnis had baskets, while Shammond Williams and Stackhouse each added a pair of free throws in this late stretch.

Carolina never trailed again and built a nine-point lead, 48-39, with 12:58 to play. Kentucky sliced that to three, 54-51, with 8:04 remaining, but McInnis and Donald Williams scored on drives to start another Tar Heel spurt.

Kentucky managed to hit only 21 of 75 shots from the field, including seven of 36 from three-point range. However, Carolina committed 20 turnovers, many of them as a result of the Wildcats' pressing defense.

"In many ways we are fortunate they didn't shoot better," said Tar Heel Coach Dean Smith afterwards. "We didn't rebound as well as I would like and that is the worst we have played against a press in a long time. This was not a particularly well played game by either team, but I was impressed with our aggressiveness."

March 24

1977--Two-Out Rally in Ninth Beats State
CHAPEL HILL-- North Carolina used a two-out ninth inning rally to defeat N.C. State, 2-1, at Boshamer Stadium and end the Wolfpack's 11-game winning streak.

The Tar Heels got a sensational pitching performance from righthander Blaine Smith and a key hit from an unlikely source in raising their record to 9-8.

Smith limited the Wolfpack to just three hits in a complete game victory. He walked four and struck out eight. State's only score came on a run-producing double by Dave Moody in the fifth inning.

However, that appeared to be enough for the Wolfpack as Tom Willette and reliever John Walker shut down the Tar Heels completely until the ninth inning. Walker struck out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth to put State on the verge of victory in the first Atlantic Coast Conference game of the season for both teams.

Walker then got two quick strikes on rightfielder Rick Alexander. But, Alexander then bounced a bad hop single into center field. Second baseman Jim Atkinson singled sharply to left center with Alexander taking third.

Bernie Menapace, who had not driven in a run all year, was the next Tar Heel hitter. After falling behind in the count by two strikes, he hit a long drive to left field. Moody got a glove on the ball, but couldn't hang on as it reached the fence.

Both Alexander and Atkinson, running at the crack of the bat, raced home for the 2-1 win.

University of North Carolina Athletics

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