Top-ranked Tar Heels fall to Northern Iowa
Wes Washpun scored 21 points and Northern Iowa stunned top-ranked North Carolina, 71-67, on Saturday at Cedar Falls, Iowa.
The Panthers used a 29-8 run in the second half to turn a 50-34 deficit into a 63-58 lead on their way to their first victory over a No. 1ranked team. Matt Bohannon scored 19 points and Paul Jesperson had 14 for Northern Iowa (2-1).
Justin Jackson had 25 points for the Tar Heels (3-1), who scheduled the trip to Cedar Falls so senior Marcus Paige could play in his home state. Paige didn’t play because of a broken bone in his right hand.
“Very disappointed in me, more so than my team. We acted like a team that had not been coached very well out there," North Carolina Coach Roy Williams said. “Made a lot of mistakes.”
Bohannon’s three-pointer with 2:51 left gave Northern Iowa the lead for good, and the Panthers stayed disciplined to pull off the biggest upset of the young season. They did not commit a turnover in the second half.
“They had to play their tails off in that second half. The game was just about over with 15 minutes left, and our guys hung in there and made a couple shots,” Northern Iowa Coach Ben Jacobson said. “That last 10 minutes, I couldn’t ask any more from our guys.”
The Tar Heels badly missed Paige, whose replacement, Joel Berry, had only five points on two-forseven shooting.
“He’s our best player offensively and defensively and as fine a young man as I’ve ever been around in my life, so I’d like to have him on the court,” Williams said of Paige. “But North Carolina still plays.”
at No. 10 Gonzaga 101, Mount St. Mary’s 56: Domantas Sabonis had 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Silas Melson scored 15 points as the Bulldogs won easily in a Battle 4 Atlantis tournament game. BK Ashe had 16 points for the Mountaineers (0-4), who are 1-25 against ranked teams. Mount St. Mary’s, preseason favorite to win the Northeast Conference, has opened the season with losses at No. 3 Maryland, Ohio State, Washington and Gonzaga.
at No. 9 Wichita State 76, Emporia State 54: Ron Baker scored 23 points for the Shockers (2-1), who played without injured senior point guard Fred VanVleet. He has hamstring and ankle injuries. Joshua Oswald led Division II Emporia State (0-2) with 16 points.
at No. 18 Notre Dame 83, Massachusetts Lowell 57: Zach Auguste had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Fighting Irish (3-0). With no River Hawks player taller than 6 feet 8, the 6-10 Auguste was largely unchallenged on the post on the way to scoring 15 points in the first half on six-for-eight shooting. Matt Harris scored 16 points for UMass Lowell (1-2).
at No. 19 Connecticut 83, Furman 58: Shonn Miller had 18 points and seven rebounds, and freshman guard Jalen Adams had 14 points and six assists for the Huskies (3-0). Matt Rafferty scored 15 for Furman (2-2).
No. 21 Purdue 61, Old Dominion 39: Center A.J. Hammons scored 12 of his 18 points in the first half, and the Boilermakers (4-0) rolled over the Big Blue (3-1) at the Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament in Uncasville, Conn. Trey Freeman led Old Dominion with 17 points.