Bruce Brown lights it up as Miami dispatches No. 9 UNC
CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Freshman Bruce Brown needed only 11 shots to score a career-high 30 points, and the Miami Hurricanes deployed a swarming zone defense Saturday to upset the No. 9 North Carolina Tar Heels 77-62, ending their seven-game winning streak.
The Tar Heels' point total was a season low and 27 below their average, and they shot only 35 percent. The Hurricanes repeatedly got their hands on the ball against the taller Tar Heels, especially in the lane.
Miami also had a 41-36 edge in rebounding against the Tar Heels, who lead the nation in that category.
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North Carolina (19-4, 7-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which had climbed to the top of the league standings with its winning streak, was playing for the second time in three days and looked it. The Hurricanes (14-6, 4-4) beat a ranked team for the first time this season, and won for the 23rd time in their past 24 home games.
The Tar Heels had scored at least 85 points in a school-record seven consecutive league games, but that streak was doomed by a season-low first-half point total. They missed 18 of their final 19 shots and trailed 39-22 at halftime.
North Carolina coach Roy Williams subbed for his entire lineup at one point in the second half, but no combination worked. The Tar Heels played without injured swingman Theo Pinson.
Brown had 23 points before he missed a shot, and he finished 8 for 11, including four 3-pointers. His previous high was 17 points. He also had five assists.
Ja'Quan Newton added 18 points and seven rebounds for the Hurricanes, whose biggest lead was 55-33. The Tar Heels were never closer than 11 after that.
Justin Jackson led North Carolina with 21 points. Joel Berry II went 0 for 8 and scored two points, 13 below his average.
North Carolina's frustration boiled over late in the half when guard Berry received a technical foul. The Tar Heels' previous losses were all by 12 points or less.
Miami outscored North Carolina 20-2 during a 12-minute span, and the Tar Heels went the final 8:36 of the first half without a basket.
North Carolina went 7 for 24 from 3-point range after sinking a season-high 14 baskets from beyond the arc in Thursday's win over Virginia Tech.
North Carolina raced to an 11-2 lead, but the Hurricanes sank 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to get back into the game.
Symbolic of Miami's performance was a free throw by Newton that bounced three times on the left side of the rim before dropping through the net. Everything fell right for the Hurricanes.
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: The Tar Heels fell to 8-3 against the Hurricanes in Miami.
Miami: The Hurricanes improved to 5-4 against North Carolina under coach Jim Larranaga. The win was the fifth for the Hurricanes against a Top Ten ACC team under Larranaga.
UP NEXT
North Carolina will try to bounce back at home against Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Miami plays host to another Top Ten team -- No. 6 Florida State -- on Wednesday.
