College Basketball Roundup : No. 6 North Carolina Survives Ambush and Beats Virginia, 64-58

Despite the way it looked, Jeff Lebo said Virginia didn’t take North Carolina by surprise.

Lebo scored 18 points Sunday and the sixth-ranked Tar Heels had to come from 17 points behind to down the Cavaliers, 64-58, in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Charlottesville, Va.

“We knew they’d be up for it,” Lebo said. “They had a week off and they were ready to play.

“We know it’s a 40-minute game. We’ve got to play until the buzzer.”

Lebo’s 16-foot jump shot put North Carolina (18-3 overall, 7-2 in the ACC) ahead for good, 58-56, with 1:34 remaining.

Scott Williams boosted the margin to 60-56 on a dunk with 25 seconds left and, after Virginia’s John Johnson drove for an uncontested layup, Lebo made two free throws with 11 seconds remaining and Ranzino Smith added two more with five seconds left.

North Carolina, which outscored Virginia, 12-2, in the final 4:05, shot only 36% in the first half and trailed, 33-25, at intermission.

Virginia (12-12, 4-4) made its first four three-point shots and raced to a 26-9 lead. The Cavaliers made 54% of their shots in the first half, including 6 of 12 from three-point range.

“We were very upbeat at halftime,” Virginia coach Terry Holland said. “We were doing what we wanted to do offensively and defensively.”

J.R. Reid scored 16 points and Smith added 10 for North Carolina, while Johnson scored 22 points for Virginia and Mel Kennedy added 11.

“I think we still have a long way to go,” said Reid, who made only 3 of 14 field-goal attempts but was 10 of 12 from the line. “We came back pretty well today, but I think it showed us we still have a lot of work to do.”

Temple 92, George Washington 67--Mark Macon scored 23 points and Howard Evans added 17 points and 12 assists as the top-ranked Owls overpowered the Colonials in an Atlantic 10 Conference game at Philadelphia.

The Owls (20-1, 13-0) ran off to a 51-27 halftime lead on the way to assuring their fifth consecutive 20-win season. Temple’s record is its best since the 1955-56 team went 20-1 on its way to the NCAA’s Final Four.

“What I’m looking for is not any one game,” Coach John Chaney said. “It’s important that we not place too much emphasis on one particular game because every game is important.

“When someone ranks you No. 1, you put a lot more stress on yourself regardless of who you’re playing.”

The victory also was the Owls’ 80th in the last 82 games on their home court and the 100th against nine losses since the field house opened in 1979.

Ellis McKennie scored 20 points and Glen Sitney had 14 for George Washington (11-12, 4-9), while Mike Vreeswyk added 13 points and Tim Perry had 12 for Temple.

Arizona 77, Oregon State 62--Tom Tolbert scored 21 points, including 9 in a four-minute stretch midway through the second half that carried the third-ranked Wildcats past the Beavers in a Pacific 10 Conference game at Tucson, Ariz.

Oregon State (12-8, 6-5) built a 21-9 lead on Bill Sherwood’s three-point shot with 9:59 left in the first half when Arizona (23-2, 12-1) missed 8 of its first 10 shots.

Arizona ran off a 10-2 spurt to pull close, but the Beavers built their lead back to 27-20. Sean Elliott hit consecutive three-pointers and the Wildcats outscored Oregon State, 13-5, in the final four minutes of the half to take a 33-32 lead.

Oregon State opened the second half with three straight baskets to take a 38-33 lead but the Wildcats pulled to 38-37 on a lay-up by Craig McMillan. Anthony Cook and Tom Tolbert made consecutive three-pointers with 13:26 left to give Arizona the lead for good, 49-44.

Elliott added another three-pointer with eight minutes left to make it 60-50, and Steve Kerr made two free throws and a three-pointer with 5:50 left to extend it to 67-53.

Elliott scored 18 points for Arizona and Earl Martin had 18 for Oregon State.