Tigers put foot down

CLEMSON — North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams often stood Wednesday night with a bewildered look during Clemson's 83-64 victory.

The look of disbelief was similar to Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's facial expression last February in the same Littlejohn Coliseum when Clemson slammed the other Tobacco Road power.

The shock could be attributed to several factors: Clemson hadn't defeated North Carolina in six years; No. 12 UNC (12-5, 1-1 ACC) rarely looks up at No. 24 Clemson (14-3, 2-1) in the ACC standings; and the Tar Heels — which entered the game with 10 straight wins against Clemson — have rarely run into a Clemson team with such resolve.

Unlike Clemson's meltdown at home earlier this season against Illinois, the Tigers never relented, leading by 20 points much of the night.

'For 40 minutes we stayed with what we wanted to do offensively and defensively,' Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. 'Illinois ... we are not going to forget that one.'

Though loaded with size and a legion of McDonald's All-Americans, the Tar Heels are young, having lost four stars from last season's national-title winning team.

From the start, the Tar Heels struggled with Clemson's full-court press, finishing with 26 turnovers. UNC could never get comfortable. Sophomore star Ed Davis was limited to four points on 2 of 11 shooting.

There was plenty of opportunity for Clemson to pressure as the Tigers shot 57.6 percent in the first half.

Clemson negated UNC's size advantage with its ultra-quick pace. Rarely was the game bogged down in the half-court as it had been in Clemson's loss at Duke on Jan. 3. When up against another towering opponent, Clemson was held to 12 points in the first half.

'We felt like we were the quicker, faster team,' Purnell said. 'The faster the game went, the better we got.'

Trevor Booker struggled at Duke. He didn't Wednesday, moving inside and out and leading all scorers with 21 points on 8 of 12 shooting.

'We had them chasing us around,' Purnell said. 'When (Booker) is a moving target, he is tough to handle.

'We definitely had (spacing).'

The early accurate shooting, raucous crowd and UNC youth — 15 first-half turnovers — compounded the problem for the Tar Heels.

Early on, Williams took a casual approach. He called few first-half timeouts, hoping the wave of energy Clemson was riding would crash. But by the 18:02 mark in the second half, after the Tar Heels' 17th turnover, Williams resorted to more forceful measures, substituting his entire starting five.

In the end nothing worked.

'We have to play with more poise,' Williams said. 'I have to coach better.'

Clemson built a 16-6 lead at the 15:32 mark in the first half and never allowed the Tar Heels to come within 10 points.

The Tar Heels trimmed the Clemson lead to 11 points with under 6:30 to play, but, as he has done during his recent torrid streak, Demontez Stitt was able to absorb contact and finish a three-point play to give Clemson a 71-57 lead with 5:53 to play, ending the UNC rally.

'It shows we have learned,' Stitt said.

Stitt scored 20 points, and has emerged as the No. 2 option behind Booker. As time expired, before students rushed the court, Stitt tugged at the Clemson nameplate on the front of his jersey, signaling his arrival and possibly Clemson's.