UNC Beats Duke 76-68

AP Wires
Published: March 8, 2008

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Danny Green had 18 points and top-ranked
North Carolina scored the final 10 points of its 76-68 victory over
No. 6 Duke on Saturday night to give the Tar Heels the Atlantic
Coast Conference regular-season title.
    Tyler Hansbrough finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds in his
third straight victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium, and Wayne
Ellington also scored 16 for the Tar Heels (29-2, 14-2).
    North Carolina blew an early double-figure lead and briefly
trailed before closing strong, holding the Blue Devils scoreless
for the final 5½ minutes to claim its eighth straight victory and
the top seed in the ACC tournament in Charlotte - and maybe the
inside track for the No. 1 seed in the Charlotte-based East
Regional.
    Greg Paulus scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half for the
Blue Devils (26-4, 13-3), who rallied from a 14-point first-half
hole but missed its final 10 shots to fall to 15-1 at Cameron this
season.
    Jon Scheyer added 14 points, and his stickback with 5:44
remaining gave Duke its only lead of the second half at 68-66 - but
that was the Blue Devils’ last field goal of the game.
    Ellington drove the left side for a layup to tie it at 68 with 3
minutes left and start North Carolina’s game-closing 10-0 run, and
on the next possession Hansbrough stuck back Green’s miss to put
the Tar Heels ahead to stay.
    Ty Lawson, who missed the previous meeting with a sprained left
ankle, finished with 10 points for the Tar Heels, who won their
first winner-take-all regular-season finale against Duke since
1985.
    It was sweet revenge for Ellington and Green, who were roundly
blamed for the Tar Heels’ 89-78 loss last month in Chapel Hill
after they were a combined 4-for-24 shooting. With the league’s
regular-season title on the line, they were significantly sharper
this time, making a combined 14-of-28 attempts.
    They were the key components of a first half burst by North
Carolina that was perhaps one of the most dominating by an opponent
at the famously rowdy arena. The Tar Heels raced out to an early
29-15 lead on the strength of Green’s hot hand - he was 6-for-8 at
the break.
    Kyle Singler and Gerald Henderson each scored 10 for Duke, which
got back in the game by opening the second half on a 17-9 run.