Turtle power! UNC loses first

By Associated Press     Jan 20, 2008

Maryland's Greivis Vasquez (21) celebrates Maryland's 82-80 victory over No. 1 North Carolina. The Tar Heels lost for the first time this season Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C.

? Bambale Osby dropped to the court with his hands covering his face. He knew his basket had given Maryland the lead late. He heard the horn as North Carolina’s final desperation shot clanged off the rim.

Yet he still couldn’t believe it.

“It didn’t feel real, man,” Osby said. “It was like, ‘Did this really just happen?”‘

The same could be said of the top-ranked – and formerly unbeaten – Tar Heels.

Osby’s layup with 21 seconds left helped Maryland stun North Carolina 82-80 on Saturday, giving the Terrapins a shocking win that will likely end the Tar Heels’ run atop the polls.

James Gist finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds for the Terrapins (12-7, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who blew an 11-point lead midway through the second half but still held on in a back-and-forth finish to win here for the first time in five years.

Maryland hardly seemed the ideal candidate to stand up to North Carolina at the Smith Center. And the Tar Heels (18-1, 3-1) – off to their best start in two decades – had been rolling to big victories behind their crowd-pleasing and fast-paced transition attack.

But the Terrapins played tough and physical defense on Tyler Hansbrough, cutting off the All-American and making the Tar Heels work hard elsewhere for good looks in a largely halfcourt game. Maryland also showed the fortitude to bounce back after North Carolina pushed ahead by four in the final 21â2 minutes.

“I think our players really believed that if we could execute really good on offense, we had a chance to win the game,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said.

After Wayne Ellington missed a three-pointer and a driving shot, North Carolina could only watch as Hansbrough’s last gasp three-pointer bounced off the rim at the horn as the Terrapins ran to midcourt to celebrate.

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