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No. 19 UNC overcomes poor shooting, tops Wake Forest

Feb 16, 2011 - 5:59 AM Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) - Tyler Zeller finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, leading 19th-ranked North Carolina to a 78-64 win over Wake Forest at the Smith Center.

Harrison Barnes added 17 points, while John Henson ended with 14 points and 13 boards for the Tar Heels (19-6, 9-2 ACC), who have won two in a row since losing to Duke last Wednesday.

"All in all it's a 'W,'" said North Carolina head coach Roy Williams. "We have got to get better though. I think we took too much of a deep breath. I don't mind catching your breath, but we have got to be more focused than we were."

North Carolina shot only 37 percent, but made 21-of-28 free throws to record the victory.

J.T. Terrell had 18 points to lead the Demon Deacons (8-18, 1-10), who have dropped five in a row. Wake Forest was out-rebounded by a 50-35 margin.

"Believe me, we were not blocking off," Wake Forest head coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "But we can't simulate the size in practice that we encounter in the game, and when we block off, we need to do it with force to carve out space so we can nullify their length. We don't do it very well. We're just not a very physical team inside."

The Tar Heels scored the game's first seven points and never relinquished the lead.

Late in the first half, UNC used a 10-0 run to build a substantial double- digit advantage. Leslie McDonald capped it with two free throws with 5:34 remaining, making it a 33-15 contest.

Terrell made a three-pointer in the final seconds of the half to get Wake Forest within 41-28, though UNC expanded its lead to a game-high 49-30 about 3 1/2 minutes into the second half.

The Demon Deacons cut their deficit to single digits a few times later in the half, including when Ari Stewart's three-pointer had them within 63-55 with 6:45 to go.

However, UNC responded with a back-breaking 11-0 run. Kendall Marshall drilled a three to end it with 2:44 left, giving the Tar Heels a 74-55 cushion, and they cruised from there.

Game Notes

Gary Clark scored 13 for Wake Forest...McDonald finished with 13 points for UNC...The Demon Deacons shot 37.7 percent and made 10-of-10 free throws.