Tar Heels Step Up Pace, Finish Hurons : East Regional: North Carolina’s two second-half runs beat Eastern Michigan, 93-67.

It was fun while it lasted, but Eastern Michigan’s short run in the NCAA tournament came to an abrupt end Friday night at the Meadowlands, where the 12th-seeded Hurons were crunched by top-seeded North Carolina, 93-67, in the semifinals of the East Regional.

North Carolina, making its 11th consecutive appearance in the tournament’s round of 16 but trying to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1982, blew open a close game midway through the second half.

The victory was the Tar Heels’ 46th in 67 NCAA tournament games under Coach Dean Smith, moving him to within one victory of John Wooden’s record and leaving North Carolina (28-5) one game short of its eighth Final Four appearance in 30 seasons under its 60-year-old coach.

“Our depth certainly paid off,” said Smith, who uses nine players regularly. “I thought they looked very tired.”

The Tar Heels started their decisive run shortly after Eastern Michigan’s Carl Thomas made a three-point shot to pull the Hurons (26-7) to within 61-57 with 12:47 to play. It was only a couple of minutes after he had elbowed the Tar Heels’ Eric Montross in the face.

Montross said the elbowing incident ignited the Tar Heels.

Eastern Michigan, which had won its previous 11 games and was the lowest-seeded team to survive the first weekend of the NCAA tournament, didn’t score again for more than 5 1/2 minutes after Thomas’ fifth three-pointer of the game. The Hurons missed four shots, made four turnovers and missed two free throws in their next nine possessions.

North Carolina scored 15 consecutive points and, after Eastern Michigan’s Marcus Kennedy scored on a layup with 7:11 to play, started another long run, outscoring the Hurons, 14-4, to open a 90-63 lead.

“It was a little bit of impatience on our part,” Eastern Michigan Coach Ben Braun said of the sudden turnaround. “Sometimes, if you’re impatient on the offensive end, not only do you pay with missing a shot--a missed opportunity--but you’re going to get caught on the defensive end.

“That’s what North Carolina does so well--they turn your miscues on the offensive end into scores for themselves. They have a great transition game. Their depth definitely had an effect. They were able to bang inside and get some putbacks that really broke our back.”

North Carolina had threatened to pull away midway through the first half, getting 10 points in 1:42 from guard Hubert Davis. He made three three-point shots during a 12-2 run, adding a free throw after the last to give the Tar Heels a 29-18 lead with 9:26 to play in the half.

But Eastern Michigan scored eight consecutive points to pull to within 29-26 and stayed close the rest of the half.

“The first half was all Eastern Michigan,” Smith said. “We shot well enough to be up (47-42), but they had to be so confident. I told my team, ‘I hope (Eastern Michigan) sees the real North Carolina team in the second half.’ ”

North Carolina outshot the Hurons after halftime, 54.8% to 31.3%, and outrebounded them, 25-16.

The Tar Heels’ two centers, 6-foot-10 senior Pete Chilcutt and Montross, a 7-foot freshman, combined for 35 points. Chilcutt made all but one of his nine shots and Montross scored a season-high 17 points.