"There
aren't great victories unless you beat great programs," longtime
Belmont coach Rick Byrd said. "... It's a big moment right now for
us."Indeed, especially considering it appeared the Bruins (3-1) would be
left lamenting one that got away.Belmont had frustrated North Carolina
by playing with poise and knocking down outside shots, leading by 11
points early in the second half. Then the Tar Heels (2-1) rallied and
led by eight with 2 minutes left, only to wholesale striped paper cups see
Mann and the Bruins push back.With the Bruins trailing by two in the
final 20 seconds, Reece Chamberlain brought the ball upcourt and flipped
it to Mann, who launched the straightaway shot over Tokoto.He said he
was "about 99 percent sure it was going in" before it dropped through
the net."It's something you dream about as a kid, and something that you
pretend this summer in the gym," Mann said. "You're saying, `All right,
game winner against North Carolina, here you go.' And then it happens.
It's just unbelievable."Belmont is a consistently successful Ohio Valley
Conference program with six NCAA tournament trips in eight years. Now
the Bruins have their first win against a Top 25 opponent since beating
No.China Fork Extensions 23
Missouri in December 2003.It was North Carolina's first nonconference
home loss since falling to Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge eight
years ago.Drew Windler, who rebounded Tokoto's late miss and threw it
ahead for Chowbray's layup, said he had 28 congratulatory text messages
and countless other Twitter messages waiting by the time he got on the
team bus.
"It's
a historical win for Belmont," Windler said. "We don't have a lot of
wins over AP Top 25 teams. So anytime you can go into a Top 25 team's
place, especially a place like North Carolina -- storied program -- and
do just enough to beat a good team, that's great. That's something to
hang your hats on."Mann hit five 3-pointers and added nine rebounds to
lead the Bruins, who hit 15 of 37 3s to match their three-game season
total for made 3-pointers coming in.Windler scored 16 points and hit
four 3s of his own for the Bruins, who shot 45 percent and hit 20 of 22
free throws.The free throws were a big factor considering the Tar Heels
-- playing yet again without leading scorer P.Authentic Replica LV Men HandbagsJ.Buy High quality Coach Grade Sunglasses,
Custom Fit Stripe Shirt and more. Hairston and senior guard Leslie
McDonald due to NCAA eligibility concerns -- couldn't make their own.UNC
shot 48 percent and scored 20 second-chance points, but finished
22-for-48 (46 percent) from the foul line. That included a woeful
9-for-28 in the first half as Belmont took a 41-34 lead at the break.printable cupcake wrapper"I
don't know," sophomore Brice Johnson said of the free-throw struggles.
"That hurt. We should've made free throws. ... Make at least 10 of those
we win the game. We just have to concentrate, just take our time."North
Carolina erased the deficit with a 14-0 second-half run, holding the
Bruins to one field goal over a 10-minute span. But after the Tar Heels
had pushed ahead 73-65 on Marcus Paige's driving basket with 3:46 left,
Mann and the Bruins pushed back.Mann knocked down a 3 to cut the deficit
to 78-75 with 1:02 left, then followed with another 8 seconds later to
cut the deficit to 80-78.The Tar Heels had a chance to make it a
two-possession game again, but Paige lost the ball on a dribble drive
with 19.9 seconds left, leading to a jump ball that set up Mann's final
shot.James Michael McAdoo scored a career-high 27 points and had 13
rebounds to lead the Tar Heels, while Paige finished with 17
points."(Byrd) is a good friend and a really good coach, and I'm happy
for him," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "But I love those kids in my
locker room and their coach let them down today. That's about it."
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