No. Carolina Streak Ends at Virginia

Virginia Coach Terry Holland knew top-ranked and undefeated North Carolina, behind by 13 points at halftime, would make a run at his team in the second half Thursday night.

What he didn’t know was whether his Cavaliers could stand up to the pressure.

“If you’re ahead like that, it’s easy to lose your aggressiveness,” Holland said. “But we went hard to the ball, turned and looked for the open man and attacked their pressure.”

Virginia (14-5 overall, 4-3 in the Atlantia Coast Conference) weathered a surge by the Tar Heels (21-1, 5-1) early in the second half, then went on to an 86-73 basketball victory. The Cavaliers broke a seven-game losing streak against the Tar Heels dating to 1982, Ralph Sampson’s junior season at Virginia.

North Carolina’s defeat left No. 2-ranked Memphis State as the only undefeated major college team in the country.

“It was a great team effort, and we’re deliriously happy,” Holland said. “We played hard the full 40 minutes. But I’d like to think we didn’t put our whole season out on the floor tonight.”

Olden Polynice had 19 points to lead Virginia. Brad Daugherty scored 21 points and Kenny Smith 20 for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina Coach Dean Smith said the difference was not scoring, but rebounding. Virginia held a 44-31 advantage on the boards, including 21 offensive rebounds. Polynice and Tom Sheehey each had 10 rebounds.

“I know they had 14 points on offensive rebounds in the first half, and they went hard to the boards the whole game,” Smith said. “Terry had them well-prepared, and they were waiting for us. Maybe we weren’t ready for them. Or maybe we were prepared, and they just beat us.

“I’m surprised we got this far without losing one, and I’m surprised at Memphis State going this far.”