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Rice, Eagles End UNC Hopes Of Perfection

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The Associated Press

Published: January 5, 2009

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Tyrese Rice and Boston College put an end to all that talk of whether No. 1 North Carolina could go unbeaten.

Rice scored 25 points in his second straight big game against the Tar Heels to help the Eagles stun North Carolina 85-78 on Sunday, likely ending its run atop the early season polls.

Rakim Sanders added 22 points for the Eagles (13-2, 1-0), who led by six points at halftime and pushed the lead to as many as 15 before holding off a frantic rally from the Tar Heels (13-1, 0-1) in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

"We had to have the discipline in order to execute what it is we needed to do," Boston College coach Al Skinner said. "There were going to be breakdowns and there were, but guys were able to refocus and not compound those mistakes."

Tyler Hansbrough scored 21 points to lead North Carolina, which shot 29 percent from the field in the second half and was just 15-for-27 at the foul line for the game.

North Carolina had won its first 13 games by an average of 26 points, with the closest margin being 15 points. But on this day, the Tar Heels looked out of sync against the Eagles' physical defense and had no answers for Rice, who burned them for 46 points last season.

In that game, North Carolina rallied from an 18-point second-half deficit for a 90-80 victory as Rice was the only BC player to reach double figures.

Rice again caused North Carolina plenty of trouble, though this time he had early help from Sanders along with a key contribution from Reggie Jackson (17 points) in the decisive run. There would be no blown lead this time, just the sight of the BC bench spilling onto the court in celebration as the horn sounded.

Rice finished 7-for-13 from the field and had eight assists with five rebounds.

NO. 5 DUKE 69,

VIRGINIA TECH 44

DURHAM, N.C. - Kyle Singler scored 19 points and keyed the decisive run that carried No. 5 Duke (12-1, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) past Virginia Tech (9-5, 0-1).

Gerald Henderson added 15 points, Nolan Smith had 13 and Jon Scheyer finished with 11 for the Blue Devils.

NO. 12 UCLA 83, OREGON 74

EUGENE, Ore. - Darren Collison scored 22 points and No. 12 UCLA (12-2, 2-0 Pac-10) held off Oregon's second-half rally for victory.

Tajuan Porter scored 24 points for the Ducks (6-8, 0-2).

CALIFORNIA 81,

NO. 17 ARIZONA ST. 71

BERKELEY, Calif. - Jerome Randle converted a four-point play with 2:13 remaining, matched his career high with 26 points and had a career-best 10 assists to lead California (13-2, 2-0 Pac-10) to victory against No. 17 Arizona State (12-2, 1-1) for its seventh straight win.

NO. 18 LOUISVILLE 74,

KENTUCKY 71

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Edgar Sosa hit a 30-footer with 2.8 seconds remaining to give the 18th-ranked Cardinals (9-3) a victory against archrival Kentucky (11-4).

NO. 23 MICHIGAN 74,

ILLINOIS 64

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Manny Harris had 16 points and four teammates also scored in double figures for No. 23 Michigan (11-3, 1-1 Big Ten) in a victory over Illinois (13-2, 1-1) that ended the Illini's seven-game winning streak.

WOMEN'S GAMES

Sun Devils Grab Late Victory

TEMPE, Ariz. - Ashley Walker's layup with 1.8 seconds left lifted No. 13 California to a 54-53 win over Arizona State.

Dymond Simon hit a 3-pointer with 8.7 seconds left to give the Sun Devils (8-6, 0-2 Pac-10) a 53-52 lead. Kelsey Adrian of California (11-2, 2-0) missed a layup, but Walker got the loose ball underneath for the game-winner.

NO. 5 OKLAHOMA 89,

N.C. CENTRAL 25

NORMAN, Okla. - Whitney Hand scored 18 points as No. 5 Oklahoma (11-2) cruised to a victory against North Carolina Central (4-12).

NO. 11 STANFORD 70,

ARIZONA 61

TUCSON, Ariz. - Jeanette Pohlen scored 15 points, as No. 11 Stanford (11-3, 2-0 Pac-10) held off a late rally by Arizona (7-6, 0-2).

NO. 17 OHIO ST. 67,

MICHIGAN ST. 49

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Jantel Lavender scored 20 points and No. 17 Ohio State (12-2, 3-0 Big Ten) rolled past Michigan State (9-6, 2-2).

NO. 19 PITTSBURGH 72,

WEST VIRGINIA 63

PITTSBURGH - Shavonte Zellous had 34 points and No 19 Pittsburgh (11-2, 1-0 Big East) scored the game's last eight points to beat West Virginia (10-3, 0-1).

WOMEN'S GAMES

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