March 1, 2003
By AARON BEARD
Associated Press Writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Raymond Felton hit two free throws with 7.7 seconds left Saturday as North Carolina rallied from 10 points down in the second half to beat Georgia Tech 67-66.
Felton had 19 points while Jawad Williams scored 15 for the Tar Heels (15-13, 5-9 Atlantic Coast Conference), who trailed the entire second half until a furious comeback in the final seconds ended a two-game conference losing streak.
Chris Bosh scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half for the Yellow Jackets (12-13, 5-9), who lost their fifth straight game and fell to 0-10 on the road this season.
The Tar Heels trailed 56-46 on a jumper from Bosh with 8:11 to play, but North Carolina gradually crawled back into the contest. Trailing 60-53, the Tar Heels went on an 8-2 run – ending with a 3-pointer from Felton and a short jumper from Williams – to close to 62-61 with 1:57 left.
Bosh had a slam on the other end to push the lead to three. After missed 3s from Felton and Melvin Scott, it appeared the Yellow Jackets had the game in control when Marvin Lewis hit two free throws for a 66-61 lead with 29.9 seconds left.
After a Felton layup closed the gap to three, Bosh missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity. The Tar Heels pushed the ball up the court and Rashad McCants found Scott for a layup, cutting the lead to 66-65 with 15.4 seconds left.
The Tar Heels then fouled Lewis, who also missed the front end of a one-and-one. Scott got the rebound and passed it to Felton, who drew a blocking foul on Jarrett Jack near midcourt with 7.7 seconds left.
After Felton’s free throws, the Yellow Jackets had two last chances. but David Noel blocked B.J. Elder’s drive to the bucket out of bounds with 1.2 seconds left. Bosh was unable to get off a shot off the inbound pass before time expired.
