Loss to Stay With Williams Over Time

Even though it ended in defeat, Roy Williams says that he won’t forget his first Atlantic Coast Conference game as North Carolina’s coach.

Eric Williams made a jump shot in the lane with 36 seconds remaining in the third overtime and added two late free throws to lift No. 14-ranked Wake Forest to a 119-114 victory Saturday over No. 4 North Caro- lina.

“It’s a very disappointing game for us to say the least, and it’s got to be exhilarating for Wake Forest,” Roy Williams said. “I’ll remember this one for the rest of my life. The quality of the play at times was really amazing, shots they made and shots we made.”

In the Tar Heels’ first three-overtime game since November 1982, when Williams was an assistant to Dean Smith. Thirteen players scored in double figures, and the teams combined to finish one point shy of the record for most points in an ACC game.

“I have been doing this for 30 years,” Wake Forest Coach Skip Prosser said, “and I have never seen anything quite like that.”

Eric Williams scored 24 points and Justin Gray had 20 for the Demon Deacons (7-0). It was Wake Forest’s first road victory against a top-10 team in six seasons.

Taron Downey also scored 19 and Chris Paul had 18 for Wake Forest, which scored the most points ever given up by North Carolina.

Rashad McCants scored 25 points and Raymond Felton had 22 for the Tar Heels (6-1). North Carolina has lost five consecutive games in the series.

McCants made a three-point shot with 32 seconds to play in the first overtime to give North Carolina a 103-102 lead. After Jawad Williams’ free throw pushed the lead to two, Paul sent the game into a second overtime when he made two of three free throws after being fouled on a three-point attempt with 1.2 seconds left. After each team scored only two points in the second overtime, the offenses came back in the third extra period.

North Carolina took a 111-107 lead on a dunk from Jawad Williams. But Downey answered with a three-point basket, and Kyle Visser put the Demon Deacons ahead, 112-111, with a tip-in with 2:20 left.

After a bucket by Eric Williams gave Wake Forest a three-point lead, Melvin Scott made a three-point shot from the top of the key to tie the score, 114-114, with 1:03 left.

That’s when Williams put the Demon Deacons ahead to stay by making his shot in the lane. He made two free throws with 2.4 seconds left to secure the victory.