#9 North Carolina upset by College of Charleston

        Despite leading by as much as 11 points down the stretch, North Carolina lacked the knockout punch it needed to put the College of Charleston away Monday evening. Without the leadership of starters Marcus Ginyard and Will Graves, who are both missing time due to injuries, the Tar Heels lost to C-of-C 82-79 in overtime; in the last 3 minutes and 54 seconds, the Tar Heels were outscored 12-1. During this spurt, the College of Charleston's Junior Guard, Andrew Goudelock, hit three shots, including two 3-pointers. In fact, the Cougars made 13 of 32 3-point attempts over the course of the night, while the North Carolina Tar Heels were just 1-for-6 in the game.

        Ed Davis had another strong performance for North Carolina, finishing with 19 points (5-11 FG, 9-12 FT), 16 rebounds and 5 blocks. He dominated the glass and finished numerous put-backs on the offensive end; however, it was not enough for the nation's ninth ranked team. Their perimeter defense was poor, allowing the College of Charleston to get off shot-after-shot from outside, but their offense also dwindled down the stretch. North Carolina did not make a field goal in the final 4 minutes and 37 seconds of regulation and the first 1:59 of overtime. That's a span of 6 minutes and 36 seconds without a bucket.

        The defending national champion Tar Heels host a 12-1 Virgina Tech team next on Sunday to kick-off ACC play, while the College of Charleston Cougars travel to the Citadel on Saturday.


By Corey Ruff - President - 1-5-10