Maryland 76 - 87 7North Carolina
Final
  for this game

North Carolina beats Maryland, pulls even in ACC race

Feb 28, 2011 - 5:06 AM Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) - Tyler Zeller finished with 25 points while Harrison Barnes scored 21, as No. 19 North Carolina extended its winning streak with an 87-76 defeat of Maryland.

John Henson had 10 points, 15 rebounds and seven blocks for the Tar Heels (22-6, 12-2 ACC), who have won five in a row. They also pulled into a tie atop the conference standings with Duke, which lost at Virginia Tech on Saturday.

North Carolina hosts Duke in the regular-season finale on March 5.

"[The winning streak has] been good, but you know it's going to come to a point where it's going to be a one-game elimination," Barnes said. "So we've just got to come ready to play every night and be as consistent as possible."

Terrell Stoglin netted 28 points to pace the Terrapins (18-11, 7-7), who had won their last two. Jordan Williams added 16 points and 19 boards in the setback.

North Carolina held a small lead for most of the first half, but started to pull away late in the period. Leslie McDonald drilled a three-pointer before Zeller's three-point play, which made it a 37-27 game with about 4 1/2 minutes left.

McDonald, who finished with 15 points, capped the half with a jumper to give UNC a 43-31 advantage at the break.

Henson opened the second half with a layup, and the Tar Heels never let Maryland get back in the game. They held a 68-51 lead about midway through the second after Zeller recorded back-to-back buckets.

The Terps got within 82-74 on Sean Mosley's three-pointer with a little under two minutes remaining, but made just one more shot as UNC secured the win at the foul line.

"I thought we did a pretty good job in the second half," said Maryland head coach Gary Williams. "But you know, you go down by 12 at halftime to a good team, it's not going to be easy coming back."

Game Notes

Kendall Marshall had 10 assists for the Tar Heels...UNC plays at Florida State on Wednesday before facing Duke...Maryland had won the last two meetings.






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