No. 1 Duke Struck Down by North Carolina, 91-71

Playing in the highly competitive Atlantic Coast Conference, it was bound to happen.

Top-ranked Duke was toppled from the unbeaten ranks Wednesday in a stunning 91-71 upset by 13th-ranked North Carolina.

The Tar Heels’ Scott Williams powered North Carolina’s inside game, scoring 22 points and getting 11 rebounds.

“We had every right to go into this game and play just like we had nothing to lose,” said Williams, who made 10 of 14 shots. “We had lost to them three times last year. That was incentive to go out there and play. We had nothing to lose and everything to gain.”

Duke’s winning streak ended at 13, and the Blue Devils fell to 3-1 in the ACC.

“It’s kind of like we have been dodging a bullet and we got hit by an artillery shell,” Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

“They played like men and we played like boys at times. I was amazed at their strength.”

The Tar Heels, who dropped a 23-point decision at Virginia Sunday, used their defense to clog the inside and shut down Duke’s offense. With Danny Ferry nursing a sore back, the Blue Devils didn’t fare much better from the perimeter, either.

North Carolina (15-3, 2-1) controlled the boards to take charge. Of its 14 baskets in the second half, only one was from beyond 10 feet. The Tar Heels had a 43-27 edge in rebounds, including an 18-1 advantage on the offensive boards.

“When we got the ball inside, I don’t think we shot particularly well,” North Carolina Coach Dean Smith said. “But that’s why we got a lot of second shots. Usually when we out-rebound a team, we lose the game.”

After building a 10-point lead midway through the first half, North Carolina held a 39-34 halftime edge. Duke started the second half with a 9-0 run, capped by Robert Brickey’s layup with 17:46 remaining, for a 43-39 lead, its first advantage since the opening basket.

“That run we made in the second half off of our defense . . . was almost bad for us,” Krzyzewski said. “It put us in a state of mind that we were going to score on layups and score right away.”

After the Tar Heels took a timeout, North Carolina came back with 6 straight points. Duke then made 3 baskets, the last a 3-point shot by Phil Henderson with 14:50 left, for a 50-45 lead.

North Carolina rallied to take the lead for good. A 13-2 run gave the Tar Heels a 58-52 edge, and the runaway was on, the lead growing on the strength of 15 of 19 free throws in the last 10 minutes.

“Everybody had written us off, especially without Jeff (Lebo, the injured guard),” Williams said. “We showed that we are competitors. If anything, we showed that tonight.”

King Rice, starting at the point guard position while Lebo recuperates from a sprained left ankle, scored 14 points, including 10 of 11 free throws.