Iona upsets No. 22 North Carolina

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Posted 7:02AM on Saturday, December 28, 2002

NEW YORK - Iona coach Jeff Ruland had a chance to relive a great night from a long time ago. North Carolina coach Matt Doherty had the worst night of a turnaround season. Courtney Fields scored 18 points and Iona beat No. 22 North Carolina 65-56 Friday night in the opening round of the Holiday Festival, the Gaels' first win over a ranked team in almost 23 years. The loss kept the Tar Heels from matching last season's win total and Sean May, one of the freshmen who had helped the turnaround, will be out 8-to-10 weeks after breaking his foot early in the second half. The last time Iona beat a ranked team was also at Madison Square Garden, on Feb. 21, 1980, when center Ruland led the Gaels to a 77-60 victory over No. 2 Louisville. ``I don't like to live in the past but I showed them this ring,'' Ruland said of a memento then-Iona coach Jim Valvano gave the players after that win. ``I told them eight guys from Long Island believed that night and beat Louisville. That we did whatever it took and that's what they did tonight. Except for the birth of my three daughters, this is the proudest day of my life.'' Iona (5-3) snapped a three-game losing streak by taking advantage of the Tar Heels (7-3) being short-handed and handling their run at the start of the second half. The Gaels will play Manhattan, which beat St. John's 72-65, for the title on Saturday in a rematch of last year's championship game. Manhattan won the 2001 Festival 69-58. North Carolina, which had to bus from Chapel Hill to New York because of the winter storm that hit the East Coast on Christmas, was without starter Jawad Williams, who was at the hotel with a stomach virus, and sixth man Melvin Scott, suspended for the game for violating a team rule. Then, less than 20 seconds into the second half, May injured his left foot and did not return. Team physician Dr. Tim Taft said May broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his left foot and would undergo surgery Monday. He said the normal recovery period is 8-to-10 weeks. ``I feel bad for Sean,'' Doherty said of the son of former Indiana All-American Scott May. ``There's a 90-95 percent chance he'll be ready for late February.'' When May was injured was when Iona took the Tar Heels' best shot of the night. North Carolina had closed the first half on a 9-2 run to tie it at 27-all. The Tar Heels scored the first six points of the second half to go up 33-27, and the crowd sensed they had taken control. Iona had other ideas as freshman Ricky Soliver, who discarded the mask protecting his broken nose at halftime, scored half the points in an 8-0 run that gave the Gaels the lead for good. ``We knew we had to take their blows and come back and that's what we did,'' Fields said. North Carolina went into its second shooting slump of the game and Iona went on a 7-1 run that included a 3-pointer by Soliver, and the Gaels led 42-34 with 13:34 left. Without May, who had nine rebounds, the Tar Heels were never able to establish an inside game and they got no closer than six points over the final six minutes. Soliver finished with 13 points, 11 in the second half, and eight rebounds, while Maceo Wofford also had 13 points. Soliver said he discarded the mask at halftime because it was affecting his vision. Ruland had another version. ``He figured he could more dates if we won and he didn't have the mask on,'' the former NBA player said. Rashad McCants had 15 points for North Carolina, which shot 32 percent (18-for-56), while fellow freshmen David Noel and Raymond Felton added 12 and 11. The Tar Heels also committed 23 turnovers as Iona registered 17 steals. ``You can't have that many turnovers and shoot 32 percent and expect to beat a team like Iona,'' Doherty said. He said the Tar Heels will have to make adjustments inside without the 6-foot-8 May, the team's leading rebounder with an 8.6 average and second-leading scorer at 13.3 per game. ``Maybe we'll go smaller and open the floor a little bit,'' Doherty said. ``Everybody's got issues and you have to navigate through it the best we can.'' North Carolina had a scoreless stretch of 7:20 in the first half and went 8:53 between field goals, missing 14 shots and turning the ball over six times. Still, Iona wasn't able to take advantage as the teams played to the halftime tie.