Williams wins 500th game, thanks former AD

By The Associated Press     Dec 10, 2006

North Carolina coach Roy Williams is recognized after his 500th career win. Williams was presented with jerseys from UNC and Kansas University after the Tar Heels' 94-69 victory against High Point on Saturday in Chapel Hill, N.C.

? No Div. I coach reached the 500-win mark faster than Roy Williams. Fittingly, North Carolina used a quick start to give him that meaningful milestone.

Tyler Hansbrough had 24 points to lead the third-ranked Tar Heels to a 94-69 rout of High Point on Saturday night and give Williams his 500th career win – a mark he said the coach kept silent about all week.

“I think he wanted us to concentrate more on the game, but everyone on the team pretty much knew that tonight was going to be his 500th win, and we wanted to play hard and get that done,” Hansbrough said. “To be playing for him on the court, when he got his 500th victory, it’s a special honor for all of us on the team.”

Williams reached the 500-win mark in his 19th season, a season earlier than Jerry Tarkanian did. After the game, he was presented with jerseys from the two schools he coached – Kansas University and North Carolina – and thanked then-Jayhawks athletic director Bob Frederick for picking him in 1988 to succeed Larry Brown months after Kansas won the national title.

“He took a tremendous chance, and gave me the opportunity,” Williams said. “And that’s something that I’ve always felt extremely proud and thankful that he did give me the opportunity.”

Reyshawn Terry added 11 points for the Tar Heels – who never trailed, broke the game open with a 15-2 run midway through the first half and cruised to their fourth straight victory.

North Carolina outrebounded the Panthers 43-25 and shot nearly 64 percent.

Arizona Reid had 26 points, and Mike Jefferson added 14 for High Point (6-4), whose three-game winning streak was snapped.

“They had more height, but I think I just had more heart,” Reid said.

Freshmen Ty Lawson and Brandan Wright added 11 points apiece, and Marcus Ginyard had 10 for North Carolina. Wright has reached double figures in each of his eight games.

Williams joined Dean Smith (879 wins) and Frank McGuire (549) as North Carolina coaches with 500 victories and improved to 82-24 in his fourth season at North Carolina. He was 418-101 in 15 seasons at Kansas.

“I’ve been extremely lucky. That’s the biggest thing,” Williams said. “I’ve been extremely lucky to have the kind of players that I have had, and the character they’ve had has been extremely important to me.”

No. 2 Pittsburgh 70, Buffalo 67

Amherst, N.Y. – Aaron Gray scored 19 points and added 11 rebounds – his seventh double-double of the season – as Pittsburgh overcame an 11-point deficit.

Levance Fields, who had 11 points, sealed the win with a layup as the buzzer sounded to help the Panthers open their fourth consecutive season with 10 straight wins.

Yassin Idbihi scored 18 points for the Bulls, but he missed a potential game-tying three-pointer with six seconds remaining.

No. 4 Alabama 92, Alabama State 58

Tuscaloosa, Ala. – Richard Hendrix had a career-high 34 points on 15-of-19 shooting to lead Alabama, which played without starters Jermareo Davidson and Ronald Steele.

Alonzo Gee added 16 points for the Crimson Tide, which shot 68 percent against the Hornets.

Steele missed the game due to tendinitis in his right knee and a sprained left ankle after trying to go in warmups.

No. 5 Ohio State 78, Cleveland State 57

Columbus, Ohio – Greg Oden made all eight of his shots from the field in his first college start to lead Ohio State.

Despite foul trouble that limited him to 23 minutes, the 7-foot freshman had 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, three blocked shots and a steal.

No. 7 Duke 69, George Mason 53

Durham, N.C. – DeMarcus Nelson scored 24 points, and freshman Jon Scheyer added 18, both career highs, for the Blue Devils, who led the entire way to extend the nation’s longest home nonconference winning streak to 48 games.

Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell each scored 13 points for the Patriots.

No. 11 Wisconsin 70, No. 17 Marquette 66

Milwaukee – Alando Tucker scored a season-high 28 points, and Wisconsin withstood a late rally to beat its in-state rival.

The Badgers led by 10 points with 3:55 remaining, but Jerel McNeal cut the lead to four with a steal and slam dunk. Tucker answered with a baseline move for a layup that put Wisconsin ahead 64-58 with 1:21 remaining.

No. 18 Gonzaga 97, No. 13 Washington 77

Spokane, Wash. – Derek Raivio scored 17 of his 25 points in the decisive first half as Gonzaga raced to a big early lead and beat Washington, extending the nation’s longest home winning streak to 45 games.

Freshman Matt Bouldin, making his first collegiate start, scored a season-high 21 points for Gonzaga.

No. 14 Arizona 69, San Diego State 48

San Diego – With star freshman Chase Budinger held to only five points in his homecoming, Marcus Williams scored 21 points to lead the Wildcats to their seventh straight victory.

Budinger, from nearby Encinitas, came in leading Arizona with a 19.4-point average. His previous low was 14 against Samford on Nov. 22.

Indiana State 72, No. 15 Butler 64

Terre Haute, Ind. – Gabe Moore scored a career-high 24 points as the Sycamores ruined the nation’s most surprising start.

Mike Green had 18 points for Butler, which shot an uncharacteristic 41.5 percent from the field and was only 8-of-28 from three-point range.

It was the third straight win for Indiana State in the 122-game series between the in-state rivals.

No. 16 Memphis 82, Mississippi 70

Memphis, Tenn. – Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 points, and Jeremy Hunt added 16 to lead Memphis. The Tigers, coming off a 28.6 percent shooting performance in an 18-point loss at Tennessee on Wednesday, regrouped to shoot 47 percent.

UNLV 58, No. 20 Nevada 49

Reno, Nev. – Wendell White scored 12 points, and Wink Adams added six of his nine in the final 2:45 to help UNLV snap the Wolf Pack’s 12-game home winning streak. Gaston Essengue added 10 points on 5-for-5 shooting for UNLV (7-2).

No. 21 Syracuse 79, Colgate 52

Syracuse, N.Y. – Demetris Nichols matched his career high with 28 points, including a school-record six straight three-pointers in the second half.

It was the 41st straight victory in the series for Syracuse, the longest active mark in Div. I. Syracuse has played Colgate more than any other school – 159 times – and has a 114-45 record against the Raiders.

Creighton 73, No. 24 Xavier 67

Omaha, Neb. – Anthony Tolliver scored 17 points, and Creighton used a strong defensive effort to snap Xavier’s four-game winning streak.

Vanderbilt 73, No. 25 Georgia Tech 64

Nashville, Tenn. – Shan Foster scored 25 points, and Derrick Byars added 18 as Vanderbilt snapped a nine-game losing streak against ranked opponents.

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