The Daily Tarheel

Issue date: 3/17/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: DTH/Sam Ward North Carolina coach Roy Williams accepts the ACC Tournament trophy from ACC Commissioner John Swofford after his Tar Heels defeated Clemson 86-81 in the championship game. The championship was the second consecutive for the Tar Heels, and it helped them garner a No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed.

Slideshow: Tar Heels win ACC title

CHARLOTTE - North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson straggled into the locker room Sunday afternoon sporting his brand-new ACC Championship apparel, the last player to reach the room.

"Run," Roy Williams commanded, and Lawson quickly jogged through the door.

The coach might have wanted more hustle then, but he got plenty from his floor general on the court as Lawson raced through the Clemson defense to dish out eight assists and orchestrate an 86-81 win for UNC's second consecutive ACC Tournament title.

"It's a great feeling for our kids, and we beat a really, really good Clemson team," Williams said. "We were lucky the first two times we beat them. Today, I think, we played better than we did either one of the two times."

Tournament MVP Tyler Hansbrough, Marcus Ginyard and Wayne Ellington all received first-team All-Tournament honors as UNC claimed its 11th straight victory.

With two red-hot squads playing for the trophy, the fans didn't have a chance to catch their breath as both teams blitzed up and down the court right from the start.

Ellington cemented his status as "Mr. Clemson" by shredding the nets for 14 points in the first half and 24 in the game on 10-for-13 shooting.

But even with Lawson back in the lineup and feeling better, Clemson created lots of problems with its athletic press.

UNC gave the ball away 20 times during the game, but that carelessness was counteracted by the Tar Heels' ability to get easy points when they did break Clemson's press, frequently from Lawson's quickness. The Tar Heels ended the game with a whopping 34 fast-break points.

"Once the opposing team scores, they are coming right behind you," Clemson guard K.C. Rivers said. "When you're jogging back and not paying attention, Lawson and (Quentin) Thomas were coming right behind us."

Perhaps more importantly for UNC, Lawson displayed his vaunted blow-by ability that's been missing since his ankle injury.

"I felt like I had a little bit more of my explosive back," Lawson said. "And that (play) was the first time I really just jumped off my ankle at all, so it felt good."

But despite UNC's transition success, the Tigers used Rivers' sweet lefty stroke - six 3s and 28 points - and baskets off turnovers to claim a one-point halftime lead, 39-38.

Hansbrough, who battled Tiger forward Trevor Booker all afternoon, was held to just six points and no free throw attempts in the first half. But after the intermission he started heating up.

For most people that would mean three or four pure jumpers in a row. For Hansbrough? Some brute force layups, a couple freebies from the line and a dunk off a loose ball scrum.

In fact, the whole UNC team took its cue from Hansbrough. Rather than settling for jump shots, Ellington & Co. all took the ball straight to the hoop off fast breaks and set plays as UNC took only two 3-pointers the entire second half.

Amid that banging, Danny Green found an opening on the left wing for UNC's only 3-pointer of the half to give the Heels a 72-59 lead with 8:05 remaining. Despite a quick Clemson comeback thanks to two Rivers trifectas, UNC used defense and took advantage of poor Tiger free-throw shooting to run out the clock.

"It was definitely frustrating," Rivers said. "We just couldn't get that one that was going to make it click to get us going again."

Selection Sunday confirmed that UNC, as the overall number one seed, will open in Raleigh and play in Charlotte should they advance to the round of sixteen.

The Tar Heels will discover their first opponent after Tuesday night's game between Coppin State and Mount Saint Mary's.

And while this weekend's net-cutting was sweet, the Tar Heels have bigger aspirations.

"It's a good feeling, but we feel that it is not enough," said Thomas, the only holdover from the 2005 team. "We want to achieve one more goal, and that is a national championship."



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.

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