Hurricanes' rally falls short at North Carolina

Hurricanes' rally falls short at North Carolina - Kevin Brafford, Sun Sentinel

Miami put the wraps on the type of perfection a team doesn't want — winless on the road in conference play — Tuesday night, as freshman Durand Scott's career-best 29 points were the lone consolation in a 69-62 loss to North Carolina.

The defeat drops the Hurricanes to 18-11 overall and 4-11 in the ACC heading into Saturday's noon conference finale against Florida State.

The defending national champion Tar Heels (16-14, 5-11), in the throes of one of the worst seasons in their storied history, recorded the program's 2,000th victory. Only Kentucky has more.

UM, which trailed by as many as 18 points three minutes into the second half, fought back gallantly and closed to within one point, 59-58, with 3:33 to play.

But the Tar Heels closed the game on a 10-4 run by making eight of 10 from the free-throw line, and the Hurricanes missed their final four three-point attempts.

"Give Carolina credit — they made shots when they had to make shots," said UM coach Frank Haith. "And they just crushed us on the boards. That was the difference in the game."

Indeed, North Carolina corralled 51 rebounds to UM's 27, including a 15-8 advantage in offensive rebounding. The Hurricanes were hurt by center Dwayne Collins's absence for most of the night; the senior, who had averaged 18 points and seven rebounds in the past three games, has a stress fracture in his leg, according to Haith, and played only five minutes in the second half and 18 for the game.

"At the end of the game, we had all freshmen and sophomores out there," said Haith. "We've got some good young talent."

Topping that list is Scott, whose 29 points — on 11 of 15 shooting — was a season high for any Hurricane. But the rest of his teammates were a combined 12 of 51 from the floor, including especially forgettable nights from Garrius Adams (0 of 5) and James Dews (1 of 8 before fouling out.)

As has often been the case away from home, the Hurricanes dug themselves a quick hole, trailing 20-8 just eight minutes into the game. Down 10 at halftime, they watched the Tar Heels score the first eight of the second half before beginning their comeback.

"I thought we were stagnant," said Haith, "and they really hurt us with second shots."