CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Whenever the North Carolina starters know that they have another win underneath their belt, quick glances and slim grins abound at breaks in the court action.
In the first meeting this season between the Virginia and Carolina, this confidence started early as the Tarheel starters darted out to a 35-10 lead in fewer than 12 minutes of play.
Yesterday, Virginia was at least able to hold off a surefire North Carolina victory until midway through the second half.
Virginia hung with North Carolina for a full 15 minutes, keeping the score at 24-20 with 5:15 to play in the first half. Yet, a 14-0 Tarheel run before the break broadened the Carolina lead to 39-24 at the buzzer.
After a three-point play by Tarheel forward Rashad McCants with 10:27 remaining in the second half, Carolina extended their lead from 14 to a high of 26 en route to an 85-61 victory.
In the first 20 minutes of play, despite earning good opportunities at the basket, Virginia shot just 29.6 percent from the field and made two of 12 three-point attempts.
"I thought we had some good looks," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "We had too many turnovers and guys got a little undisciplined in what we wanted to do and made us pay."
Virginia shot 38.5 percent on the game, with starters converting just 12 of 38 shots from the field.
Cavalier forward Gary Forbes continued to be a rare bright spot for Virginia, ending the evening with 23 points and six rebounds. His only teammate in double figures was forward Elton Brown, who finished with 11 points.
In the first half alone, Tarheel center Sean May tallied 13 points and nine rebounds, manhandling Virginia defenders in the paint. May would end the contest with 17 points and 16 rebounds, his third consecutive double-double.
The Cavalier spread offense was a stark contrast to the fast-paced style played several weeks ago at University Hall, but the North Carolina shooting effort was much the same. In the first half, Virginia's attempts in transition to briefly move away from a possession offense were ineffective.
And whenever the Cavaliers would quiet the 20,643 fans in the Dean Smith Center with a crucial field goal, the Tarheels were ready to respond.
"We had a tough task guarding their offense -- spread and stall -- and we did a good job of scoring out of that and making turnovers," McCants said.
North Carolina countered 17 Virginia field goals with immediate scores of their own throughout the contest and allowed the Cavaliers to string together four points or more just five times.
For the second time this year against the Tarheels, the game story ended in defeat for Virginia, marking the first season since 1998-1999 that North Carolina swept the conference series against the Cavaliers.
Heading into the final four games of the year, shooting must be the focus for Gillen's squad. In five of Virginia's eight conference losses, the team has shot under 40 percent from the field.
"The day is going to come when we play a perfect game and everybody is going to be knocking down shots," Forbes said. "We're just waiting for everybody to pick themselves up."
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