Texas A&M
(#14) North Carolina
12th-ranked Tar Heels Too Much for Aggies, 82-60
Dec 09, 2000 | Men's Basketball
December 09, 2000
Joseph Forte scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half, helping 12th-ranked North Carolina overcome a sluggish first 20 minutes to post a 82-60 victory over the Texas A&M Aggies Saturday in the 2000 Toys for Tots College Basketball Challenge before 9,123 fans at the Compaq Center.
A sloppy first half saw the teams combine for 26 turnovers as the Tar Heels held a 33-26 lead at the break. Carolina (5-2), which jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead at the start, went up by as much as 12 before A&M pulled within eight after UNC center Brendan Haywood picked up his third foul with 1:45 to play. A bucket by Aggie forward Keith Bean with under a minute to go cut the Carolina lead to seven heading into the locker room.
A&M (3-4) was held scoreless for the first 4:38 of the second half and the Tar Heels took advantage, scoring the first eight points to go up by 15. Following the first media timeout, the Aggies got hot from behind the arc. Two consecutive Bernard King 3-pointers pulled A&M within nine with just under 15 minutes to go but that was as close as the Aggies would get. UNC went on a 10-2 run beginning at the nine-minute mark, extending their lead to a comfortable 19 points at 63-44 with 5:42 to go. Forte would provide most of the offense down the stretch, scoring 12 points in the final seven minutes of the game. Carolina held their solid lead by going 15-of-17 from the charity stripe in the second half.
The Aggies got 25 points from King, who connected on 5-of-9 from behind the arc. Other scorers in double figures for A&M were Carlton Brown with 16 and Bean with 11. Forte was 10-of-18 from the floor to lead UNC. Haywood (17), Kris Lang (12) and Jason Capel (11) were also in double digits for the Tar Heels.
A tough UNC defense blocked six shots and posted 14 steals. Despite being outsized in the paint, the Aggies lost the rebounding battle by just one, 36 to 35.
Following a break for final exams, the Aggies will begin a long Christmas trip when they travel to Long Beach State on Friday, Dec. 22. Tipoff is set for 9:15 p.m. (CST). A&M then continues west to participate in the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawai'i, Dec. 27-30 at the Stan Sheriff Center.
