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Terry's big effort leads UNC to rout of Wake Forest

Feb 11, 2007 - 3:02 AM CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Reyshawn Terry and North Carolina re-established themselves at home against Wake Forest in a big way.

Terry scored a season-high 23 points and Tyler Hansbrough added 16 as the fifth-ranked Tar Heels rolled to a 104-67 rout of the Demon Deacons in an Atlantic Coast Conference contest.

Coming off a solid 79-73 victory at No. 16 Duke, North Carolina (22-3, 8-2 ACC) displayed no letdown in halting Wake Forest's three-game winning streak here.

The big win came in front of an impressive list of dignitaries as the school's 1957 and 1982 national champion squads were honored at halftime. Among that group were Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins.

"It means a great deal to me - can't be a bigger North Carolina basketball fan than Roy Williams," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "I really wanted to do a lot of things to get the old-timers, and everybody that has ever played here, feel like this was their program."

"They mean a lot to everybody around here," Tar Heels freshman Ty Lawson said. "I hear people talking about them all the time, like Michael Jordan, James Worthy, all them. So it's great motivation, great experience." The lone senior to play a significant role for the Tar Heels, Terry was one of five players to collect at least seven points in the first half, helping the team roll out to a 51-32 advantage at the break.

Terry, who entered the contest averaging 9.0 points, continued the onslaught after intermission, scoring 16 points on 4-of-4 shooting with two 3-pointers.

It was Terry's first 20-point effort in a league game since collecting 24 against Virginia in the 2005 ACC Tournament.

His offensive effort was much improved compared to his previous two games, when the 6-8 forward managed just 12 points combined.

"I just try, for the most part be consistent, and just do whatever it takes for my team to win," Terry said.

"It always looks good and feels good when the shot goes in," Williams said. "There is no question about that. He really looked bad the last two (games)."

Freshman Brandan Wright scored 15 points and fellow classmate Wayne Ellington added 11 for North Carolina, which finished 53 percent (34-of-64) from the field in eclipsing 100 points for the second time in four league games.

"As you can imagine, there's not a lot to say," Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said. "They're very, very good. You have to score to beat them because they have so many offensive weapons."

UNC posted its seventh 100-point game of the season, the highest season total since it posted 10 during the national championship season of 1992-93.

Lawson added seven points and six assists for the Tar Heels, who equaled its largest win against Wake Forest with the 37-point margin. UNC also posted a 100-63 victory at the Demon Deacons on January 25, 1984.

Anthony Gurley had 12 points and Kyle Visser 11 for the Demon Deacons (11-13, 2-9) who committed 17 turnovers in dropping their fourth consecutive league road game.

Despite its road struggles, Wake Forest had a strong start, grabbing a 23-22 lead on freshman Ishmael Smith's basket with 7:44 left in the first half. However, UNC came back with a 12-2 run over the next three minutes. Ellington had six points during the burst.

Overall, the Tar Heels closed the first half on a 29-9 run,

"I think it's a reflection of our defense, but also I thought we had so many empty trips where we got the ball relatively close to the basket and gave them opportunities in transition," Prosser said. "When they get going like that it's like they're running downhill.

"You have to be able to be somewhat efficient offensively and I think we were a little bit for the first 12 or 13 minutes of the half, and then that last seven minutes, I'll have to see the tape, but we got the ball close to the basket a few times and missed some open shots and those became outlet passes for them."

The only player to average double figures for the Demon Deacons at 17.5 points, Visser shot 4-of-10 from the field before fouling out with 9:09 remaining. It was the first time the 6-11 senior fouled out since his freshman season.