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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Matt Doherty tricked an old friend to
win the NABC Classic on Saturday night.
Tulsa coach Buzz Peterson, Doherty's former teammate at North
Carolina in the 1980s, could have expected big games from Joseph
Forte and Brendan Haywood in a 91-81 loss.
But Peterson admitted he wasn't prepared for a lot of zone defense from the No. 6 Tar Heels.
|  | | UNC's Brendan Haywood blocks a shot by Tulsa's Jack Ingram, one of his six blocks on the night. |
"Was I surprised to see as much zone? Yes I was," Peterson said. "It was an aggressive zone and they were very effective with it. I told my team it was my fault that I haven't put a lot of zone offenses in, but I just did not think this early we would see a lot of it."
The Golden Hurricane also saw plenty of Forte and Haywood.
Forte scored a career-high 38 points and Haywood added 24 as the
Tar Heels cruised to a 2-0 start.
Forte, a preseason All-American, and Haywood had their problems
in the first round of the tourney -- Haywood with early foul trouble
and Forte with 2-for-11 shooting as each managed just 10 points in
a 66-61 victory over Winthrop.
Things were different this time against the Golden Hurricane (1-1).
"They remind me of two other guys back in my days here _ Jordan
and Worthy," Peterson said. "Once they get rolling, they're tough
to stop. North Carolina has some weapons out there."
Forte was 10-for-18 from the field and 12-of-13 from the foul
line with 10 rebounds and six assists. His previous high was 28
against Tulsa in the NCAA tournament last season.
"People put me on All-American teams, so I can't go out there shooting 2-for-11," Forte said. "The only difference tonight was that the ball went in."
Haywood added eight rebounds and six blocks to give him 11 blocks in the two-day tournament.
"They kept sending it in and I just kept sending it back out,"
Haywood said of his blocks. "I would like to think I'm a good shot
blocker and I showed that tonight."
Forte's scoring outburst was the first 30-point game by a North
Carolina player since Shammond Williams had 32 against Charlotte in
the 1998 NCAA tournament.
Marcus Hill led Tulsa with 23 points, matching his career high.
Doherty employed his zone against a smaller Tulsa team to help
protect his big men from foul trouble. It worked to perfection.
The new head coach of the Tar Heels also let his club freelance
more on offense.
"We didn't run as many set plays and I think that helped us get
into a better rhythm," Doherty said. "I thought maybe last night
we didn't get into a rhythm. I wanted more secondary break and then
get into more motion offense."
The Tar Heels led by six at the half before Forte and Haywood
helped give them an 18-point cushion 6½ minutes into the second.
Forte had eight points, nailing two 3-pointers, while Haywood added
seven in the 20-8 run.
Tulsa never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
North Carolina and Tulsa played vastly superior to their close
season-opening wins Friday night over Winthrop and Arizona State in
a rematch of last year's NCAA tournament South Regional title game,
won by the Tar Heels 59-55.
Haywood and Forte combined for 23 of North Carolina's first 25
points in what amounted to a perfect inside-outside game between
the 7-footer and shifty guard.
The Tar Heels went on a 27-11 run to go up 42-25 three minutes
before halftime as Haywood closed the spurt on a layup from Forte,
who was 1-for-7 in Friday's opening half, but 6-for-11 against the
Golden Hurricane.
He hit his first three shots to get going early.
"I thought it was important to start strong," Forte said. "I
was a little embarrassed from last night. It was a big motivating
factor for me."
Tulsa got back into it with an 11-0 run to close the period,
getting a pair of 3-pointers from Dante Swanson and one from Marcus
Hill, who had four baskets from beyond the arc in the opening 20
minutes.
However, the taller Tar Heels held a 12-0 advantage from the
foul line to lead by six at the half as Forte had 17 and Haywood
16.
"The last thing I told my team when I left the locker room was
for them not to hang their heads," Peterson said. "They didn't
quit and they kept battling."
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Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Tulsa Clubhouse
North Carolina Clubhouse
Arizona State does enough to get past Winthrop, 76-68
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