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No. 2 Syracuse keeps UNC winless in ACC

Jan 11, 2014 - 11:30 PM Syracuse, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - North Carolina got its first taste of Jim Boeheim's athletic and lengthy 2-3 zone in ACC play.

A promising start soon turned extremely stressful for the erratic Tar Heels.

C.J. Fair had 20 points and eight rebounds as No. 2 Syracuse routed North Carolina, 57-45, on Saturday afternoon.

Jerami Grant added 12 points and 12 boards for the Orange (16-0, 3-0 ACC), who snatched 17 offensive rebounds.

James Michael McAdoo had 15 points and nine rebounds for North Carolina (10-6, 0-3), which has dropped three straight.

"They had so much more intensity than we did," Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams said.

UNC has quality wins over highly-ranked Michigan State, Kentucky and Louisville, but has dropped five tilts to unranked opponents.

McAdoo netted six quick points as UNC raced out to an 8-2 lead, but the vaunted Orange zone took control of the contest during the middle to late stages of the opening half.

A Fair turnover led to a McAdoo dunk in transition to give UNC a 15-11 edge, but Syracuse answered with a 21-3 run as the Tar Heels recorded just one field goal over an 11-plus minute stretch.

"We started pretty slow defensively. We let McAdoo get in the lane. Our centers made a nice adjustment, and our defense pretty much took over at that point," Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim said.

Grant netted eight points during the surge, including a jumper to cap it and stake the Orange to a 32-18 cushion late in the half.

Syracuse took a 34-22 spread into the break.

UNC was 0-for-8 from beyond the arc over the first 20 minutes.

Fair's three-point play finished off an 8-0 spurt and opened up a 42-24 margin early in the second half.

The hosts cruised to the easy win from there.

Game Notes

Syracuse shot just 35 percent (21-of-60) from the floor ... The Tar Heels finished 39.2 percent (20-of-51) from the field and 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from beyond the arc.