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North Carolina

Game blog: UNC cruises to 62-52 win over Maryland

By Staff and wire reports

Jan 19, 2013

Chapel Hill, N.C. — FINAL: North Carolina took a dominant 62-52 win over Maryland behind Reggie Bullock's career high 24 points.

6:47, second half, 55-43 UNC: A Brice Johnson block got the crowd back into the game after North Carolina has struggled offensively in much of the second half. The Heels over 50% field goal percentage in the first is now less than 40. They are managing to keep just over a double-digit lead against the Terps in the second half.

11:05, second half, 51-37 UNC: Maryland has cut a 23-point lead to 14 in the second half. The Heels shots aren't falling like they were in the first half and the team seems to be a little slower out of the gate.

15:56, second half, 44-28 UNC: Maryland is on an 8-2 run out of the half as the Heels can't seem to find the basket.

Halftime, 42-20 UNC: Reggie Bullock set the tone of the game by scoring eight straight points and the rest of the team followed suit. The Heels have forced 15 Maryland turnovers and are keeping the Terps to a shooting percentage of 33. Bullock has 21 points in the first half, half of North Carolina's entire team. 

4:26, first half, 33-18 UNC: The Tar Heels continue to force turnovers with Maryland now at 13. Taking advantage of the stops on the offensive end is allowing UNC to maintain a lead over the Terrapins.

11:39, first half, 21-7 UNC: The flow of the game continues in North Carolina's favor. The team quickly got ahead of Maryland thanks to 12 points from Reggie Bullock and a great defensive stand. The Heels have forced eight Maryland turnovers. North Carolina is 3-3 from the three point line and maintaining a 50% percentage from the field.

14:35, first half, 13-4 UNC: Carolina is all over Maryland early in the first half. Defensively UNC has 3 steals, 2 blocks and seven rebounds. The Heels are shooting 50% to Terps 29%.

18:34, first half, 8-0 UNC: Reggie Bullock scored the first eight points of the game in less than two minutes. The Smith Center is rocking as the Terrapins have yet to score.

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A week after going on the road to beat Florida State, the North Carolina Tar Heels return to the Dean E. Smith Center Saturday for a noon showdown with the Big Ten-bound Maryland Terrapins. 

Roy Williams's Tar Heels notched their first ACC win after two unsuccessful attempts last Saturday when they defeated Florida State, 77-72. More Info     2012-2013 Tar Heels individual stats

UNC ended its own shooting slump in the contest and rose to 11-5 overall with the win. The Tar Heels are one of the top teams in the nation statistically, ranking in the top 10 in points (79.7), rebounds (43.2) and assists (18.3), but defensively North Carolina is second to last in the ACC with an allowed average of 69.4 ppg.

The Tar Heels are led by the trio of James Michael McAdoo, Reggie Bullock, and P.J. Hairston. McAdoo's sophomore season has not been quite as spectacular as projected, but the talented forward is still providing team-bests of 14.4 points and 8.1 boards per tilt. Bullock (13.5 ppg, 3.3 apg) and Hairston (12.3 ppg) are both carrying double-digit scoring averages as well while the point guard rotation of freshman Marcus Paige and senior Dexter Strickland deals out a combined average of 8.2 assists a game.

Hairston was the hero against FSU as he provided a huge spark off the bench with 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the field. The Tar Heels connected on 48.3 percent of their field goal tries including 8-of-20 from distance in the contest. More Info     More UNC Stories

The Terrapins shot under 40 percent for the third consecutive outing on Wednesday, but they still managed to knock off the 14th-ranked NC State Wolfpack, 52-51, after a last second putt back by sophomore center Alex Len. The decision improved Maryland to 14-3 overall record and 2-2 standing in the conference.

Coach Mark Turgeon's team had a 13-game winning streak snapped as it dropped consecutive contests to Florida State and Miami prior to downing the Wolfpack. Despite the recent offensive slump, the Terps are still ranked fifth in the ACC in scoring (73.4) and have been steady on the other end, allowing only 59.5 points per game.

Len has been a big part of Maryland's success this season. The 7-foot-1 Ukrainian center is pacing the team with 13.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game after scoring in double-figures in all four of the Terps' league games. Dez Wells has been made a substantial contribution in his first season in College Park. The Xavier transfer is second on the squad with 11.7 ppg. Wells was held to four points on 2-of-10 shooting from the floor by NC State, but he was not the only one to struggle as Maryland shot 34.4 percent from the field including a 3-of-18 mark from beyond the arc versus the Wolfpack.

The Terps will need to step it up on the offensive end as they get set to take on UNC. The Tar Heels own a sizable 118-57 all-time series lead after winning 10 of the last 14 encounters, including the last four meetings.

The Tar Heels will struggle to light up the scoreboard as easily against Maryland, but they should be well rested after having the past week to recover. The Terps are clearly going to be a tough out throughout their ACC slate, but keeping up the intensity after a close call on Wednesday will be tough to do in Chapel Hill.

• Web Editor: Erin Summers