No. 23 Wake Forest keeps Tar heels reeling

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Josh Howard scored 20 points and Steve Lepore added 15 as No. 23 Wake Forest beat North Carolina 84-62 Saturday, handing the Tar Heels their worst defeat at the Smith Center. <br> <br> Wake Forest (11-3, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) held the Tar Heels without a field goal for 11:42 in the second half, outscoring the Tar Heels 21-3 during that span to turn a nine-point game into a rout. <br> <br> It was Wake Forest&#39;s biggest margin of victory in Chapel Hill, surpassing a 20-point win in the 1938-39 season. UNC&#39;s previous biggest defeat at the Smith Center was a 20-point loss to Duke in the 1998-99 season. <br> <br> North Carolina (5-6, 1-1) struggled all day with Wake&#39;s fullcourt pressure defense, committing 21 turnovers and often taking nearly all of the 10 allotted seconds to get the ball across halfcourt. In addition, the Demon Deacons owned the glass, outrebounding North Carolina 48-41 including an 18-15 edge in offensive rebounds. <br> <br> Trailing 48-34 at halftime, North Carolina hit three 3-pointers to open the second half, getting two from Jason Capel and one from freshman guard Jackie Manuel. Capel&#39;s second 3 pulled UNC to within 52-43 with 16:59 to play. <br> <br> The Tar Heels didn&#39;t get another field goal until Adam Boone&#39;s layup off a turnover at the 5:17 mark, cutting the lead to 73-48. <br> <br> Wake Forest, meanwhile, was too athletic for UNC, getting easy scores in the paint and scoring off the dribble to blow the game open. <br> <br> Wake Forest led 21-17 midway through the first half before going on a 12-2 run over 4.5 minutes. Lepore hit two 3-pointers one banked in from the right wing and a short jumper in the lane during that span. The Tar Heels, meanwhile, hit only 2 of 9 shots during the stretch. <br> <br> The Demon Deacons&#39; fullcourt pressure rattled the Tar Heels from the start. North Carolina committed 12 first-half turnovers five from starting point guard Melvin Scott. <br> <br> Wake shot 3-for-16 from 3-point range in the first half, but hit 18-for-28 inside the arc. The Deacons scored 29 points in the paint in the first 17 minutes of the game, pushing the lead to 46-29. UNC never got closer than eight points the rest of the way. <br> <br> UNC shot 36 percent for the game and hit 7 of 27 3-point field goals. The Tar Heels were led by Capel&#39;s 13 points and Brian Morrison&#39;s 12.

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