COLLEGE BASKETBALL / NCAA MEN’S TOURNAMENT : MEN’S SOUTHEAST REGIONAL : North Carolina Shows Heels to Hoyas

The game started at 6:45 p.m. here for North Carolina and about 7:15 for Georgetown.

This deep into the tournament, you don’t give up seconds to the Tar Heels, let alone minutes.

The Hoyas found out in due time, spotting North Carolina a 15-point first half lead that could not be overcome.

The Tar Heels, relying on the outside game in the first half and Mr. Inside, Rasheed Wallace, in the second, fought of a late rush Thursday to defeat Georgetown, 74-64, at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center.

North Carolina (27-5) advanced to Saturday’s Southeastern Regional final against Kentucky.

For Georgetown, which squeaked past Weber State to get here and relies too heavily on freshman point guard Allen Iverson, this was a likely jumping-off point.

“I felt we were a bit tentative in the beginning,” said Hoya Coach John Thompson, whose team finished 21-10. “We took our time to get started. I could understand that. We have some people where this is a new experience.”

With a game plan designed to contain Wallace, the Hoyas opened in a zone defense and dared North Carolina to beat them with the long shot.

The Tar Heels did, reeling off a 14-0 run in which they connected on four consecutive three-point shots to open up a 23-7 lead.

North Carolina Coach Dean Smith still wasn’t comfortable.

“I looked up and saw it was 23-9,” Smith said. “It reminded me that Iowa State had us up 23-9 (in a first-round game). I knew it wasn’t over.”

The Tar Heels rallied to win that game and, if Georgetown could have borrowed a few North Carolina shooters, it might have won too.

After the three-point onslaught, Thompson extended his defense and the Hoyas managed to cut the lead to 35-26 at halftime.

But his strategy was costly.

Wallace, held to two points in the first half, dominated the second, scoring 20. The 6-foot-10 center also finished with 12 rebounds and six blocked shots.

With 17:43 remaining, he made the basket of the night, catching teammate Dante Calabria’s missed three-point shot and slamming it through in one swooping motion.

Wallace’s shot extended the Tar Heel lead to 43-28.

Luckily for Georgetown, Iverson awoke from a first-half slumber in which he scored three points and made only one of six shots.

Iverson scored 13 of his team’s points in a 19-9 second-half run. His two free throws with 11:35 to play cut the lead to 52-47.

Georgetown narrowed the gap to four points a minute later on Jerome Williams’ follow shot, but the Hoyas could not get closer.

Iverson scored 19 second-half points to finish with 24.

“Truthfully, in the beginning, I felt terrible for him,” Thompson said of his freshman guard. “He’s a kid who has responsibilities, and I’m making demands on him.”