North Carolina Drops Connecticut

Rashad McCants and Raymond Felton had big second halves Sunday to help No. 2-ranked North Carolina bounce back from a tough loss with a 77-70 victory over No. 19 Connecticut at Hartford, Conn.

McCants scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, and Felton had 14 of his 16 points and seven of his 10 assists.

The performances by the junior stars enabled the Tar Heels (20-3) to rebound from a 71-70 loss at No. 7 Duke on Wednesday night.

Marcus Williams had a career-high 18 points for the Huskies (15-6), who had won three consecutive games and four of five.

OTHER GAMES

North Carolina State 53, Georgia Tech 51 -- Tony Bethel drove around Jarrett Jack for the winning basket with 9.8 seconds left, lifting the Wolfpack at Atlanta.

Jack made a jump shot with 42 seconds remaining, tying the score, 51-51. But he slipped while guarding Bethel, who burst along the baseline for a layup that put the Wolfpack (14-10 overall, 4-7 Atlantic Coast Conference) ahead.

The Yellow Jackets (14-8, 5-6) had one more chance, but B.J. Elder missed a three-point shot from the corner at the buzzer.

Xavier 83, Duquesne 72 -- Freshman Stanley Burrell had a career-high 32 points, and the Musketeers overcame a slow start at Pittsburgh.

Josh Duncan scored 11 points for the Musketeers (12-9, 6-4 Atlantic 10 Conference), who have won three in a row. Bryant McAllister led the Dukes (6-17, 3-7) with 20 points.

Providence 81, Rutgers 64 -- Ryan Gomes scored 22 points, his 15th game this season with 20 or more, and Tuukka Kotti scored 17 to help lift the Friars (11-13, 1-9 Big East Conference) at Providence, R.I.

Ollie Bailey led the Scarlet Knights (8-13, 2-9) with 15 points and seven rebounds, and Ricky Shields and Quincy Douby each scored 13 points.