Jan. 19, 2008

Complete Statistics in PDF Format

By Ben Baden

CHAPEL HILL - Davidson County Community College (Lexington, N.C.) gave the Tar Heels their best game of the season dominating most of the first half, but running out of gas in the second half as the Tar Heels were able to remain undefeated (8-0).

The atmosphere at Saturday afternoon's game was unlike any other this year as the Storm from Davidson County brought a busload of fans to the game.

"I feel like it's the game we've been waiting for," said starting guard Terrence Petree, who finished with 18 points and four steals.

The Storm led by as much as 11 in the first half, the biggest deficit allowed this season thus far for the Tar Heels, and they led 39-42 at halftime.

"They came in with a fury and we got back on our heels instead of matching it," head coach Jerod Haase said.

The Tar Heels first lead of the game didn't come until 13:05 in the second half when they took the lead 55-54.

The Strom regained the lead momentarily, and the Tar Heels advanced their lead to 10 with about five minutes to go and never looked back.

The Tar Heels were led inside by two of their starters Terrence Petree and Ford Tanner. Petree picked up the majority of his 18 points driving into the lane, and Tanner dominated the lane as he shot 10-17 from the field and 8-12 from the free-throw line, scoring his season-best 28 points along with 7 rebounds.

"[Coach Haase] wanted us to control the middle," said Tanner. "He lets us know when we're not doing stuff right which is good because it gets you going."

The Storm is in its first year of play and coached by former UNC junior varsity player Matt Ridge.

"They've done a great job developing the program in such a short amount of time," head coach Jerod Haase said.

It was evident that the Tar Heels fast-paced style of play rubbed off on Ridge at his time at UNC as both teams put big numbers on the board.

"I could see them running through our secondary," said Tanner. "It was similar to playing ourselves in practice."

The Tar Heels only gave up 30 points to Justin Strickland, whose averages 37.1 points per game, as he is the leading scorer in Division III of the National Junior College Athletic Association.

This is the fifth time in eight games the Tar Heels have put up at least 100 points on the board, and 93 points is the most any opponent has scored against the Tar Heels.

James Gallagher picked up his first double-double of the year with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Thomas Thornton was the only other player to finish in double figures as he also finished with 15 points.

The Tar Heels play their next game against Johnston Community College in the Smith Center on Thursday at 7 p.m.