Georgia Tech shuts down North Carolina

ATLANTA -- Iman Shumpert, Glen Rice and Georgia Tech finally played a complete game - just in time for North Carolina's worst shooting performance in 56 years.

Shumpert matched his career high with 30 points and Georgia Tech held North Carolina to one of its worst offensive showings under Roy Williams to beat the Tar Heels 78-58 on Sunday night.

North Carolina shot just 27.6 percent (16 of 58), its worst performance since shooting 25.7 percent against North Carolina State in 1955. Many of North Carolina's missed shots were layups, leaving Williams exasperated.

"We stunk," Williams said. "The coaching stunk and we stunk."

Exactly one year after setting his career scoring high with 30 points in a win over North Carolina, Shumpert enjoyed another memorable game against the Tar Heels. He blocked two shots and had three steals.

Rice also matched his career high with 24 points as Georgia Tech (8-8 overall, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) ended its three-game losing streak.

"We've just been trying to stay together," Shumpert said. "When things go bad, the worst thing you can do is start pointing fingers."

Shumpert, who was recruited heavily by Williams out of Oak Park, Ill., made 13 of 23 shots.

"Iman is playing great," Williams said. "I recruited the dickens out of him. That is two games that he has scored 30 on us. I think he sees us and then his eyes light up."

Shumpert said he chose Georgia Tech because "I'm a city guy, pretty much."

Shumpert said he could not explain his success against North Carolina, but he said he might have been motivated by the crowd. About one-third of the 8,125 fans at Alexander Memorial Coliseum wore North Carolina blue.

The Yellow Jackets have won four straight over North Carolina. Georgia Tech took three wins in the series last season, including one in the ACC tournament.

Coach Paul Hewitt said Georgia Tech played its best game of the season as Shumpert, a junior, and Rice, a sophomore, continue to adjust to their new roles as scoring leaders.

"It's getting used to being the guy," Hewitt said.

North Carolina's five-game winning streak ended as the Tar Heels (12-5, 2-1) committed 18 turnovers, leading to 25 points for Georgia Tech.

Williams also was not impressed after the Tar Heels won their first two ACC games against Virginia and Virginia Tech by a combined margin of nine points.

"It's the third straight game where we just went through the motions," Williams said.

It was the seventh time in Williams' eight seasons that the Tar Heels scored fewer than 60 points. Three of those performances have now come against the Yellow Jackets in less than a year, with Georgia Tech holding the Tar Heels to 51 points in Atlanta last February and 58 points in the ACC tournament victory a month later.

The Tar Heels reached a new low against Georgia Tech.

"We didn't execute," Williams said. "We missed layups. I don't think I've ever had a game where we missed so many layups. ... One of our problems was just passing and catching, very elementary things."

Harrison Barnes and John Henson each had 11 points for North Carolina, which never led.

Shumpert and Rice, who had four 3-pointers, were Georgia Tech's only scorers in double figures.

As North Carolina's starters struggled early, Williams inserted five subs less than 3 minutes into the game. The second five made an immediate difference as the Tar Heels rallied from a 10-2 deficit for a 10-10 tie.

North Carolina's starters returned to the tie score but were still cold, and Georgia Tech led 22-12 when Williams again sent in the backups. North Carolina fans loudly cheered the move.

Henson scored the last five points of the first half as North Carolina cut the Yellow Jackets' lead to 33-32.

Tyler Zeller, who leads North Carolina with his average of 14.6 points per game, finally managed his first field goal less than 3 minutes into the second half. He finished with nine points.

"We didn't come out with any enthusiasm or intensity," Zeller said. "It's very frustrating.

"They're a good team, but we should never have lost by 20 points."

NOTES: Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew had a front-row seat behind the North Carolina bench to watch his son, Larry Drew II, the Tar Heels' starting point guard. The younger Drew had two assists and three steals. ... Leslie McDonald had 10 points for North Carolina. ... Henson said he was fine after landing hard on his elbow late in the game.