PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA (AP) (Jan. 29) – Brendan Haywood, who played only six minutes in the first half because of foul trouble, dominated at the start of the second to carry North Carolina to a 70-53 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday, January 29.
| Georgia Tech Jason Collier, left, and North Carolinas Julius Peppers battle for a rebound on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2000. (AP Photo/Alan Mothner) |
Despite having to make a 6 1/2-hour bus trip Friday wheninclement weather prevented their flight to Atlanta, North Carolinalooked like the rested team. The game was tied 28-28 at halftime,but Georgia Tech (9-10, 2-5) fell over the final 20 minutes.
The Yellow Jackets made only 9-of-41 shots (22 percent) in the second half to suffer their second straight loss at home.
Jason Capel led the Tar Heels with 20 points and Joseph Forte added 15. But it was Haywood who turned the tide.
The 7-foot center picked up his third foul less than eight minutes into the game and spent the remainder of the first half on the bench. Haywood returned after halftime and forgot about the fouls, scoring six points and blocking three shots in the first four minutes.
The Yellow Jackets pulled down 25 offensive rebounds and took 22 more shots than North Carolina. It didn’t matter, since Tech made only 20-of-73 (27 percent) from the field.
Jason Collier had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Tony Akins was the only other player in double figures with 11 points.
The game was expected to be a sellout, but thousands of fans didn’t show up because an ice storm struck Atlanta. Tech officials opened the doors about an hour before the game and let everyone in, whether they had a ticket or not.
