Hoosiers come up short against UNC

It was an opportunity to put IU basketball back on the national map -- the North Carolina Tar Heels just wouldn't allow it.\nIn the match-up of two of NCAA basketball's traditional powers, UNC defeated IU 70-63 on the strength of 37 points from its starting backcourt of Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants in front of a sellout crowd at Assembly Hall. McCants effectively ended the Hoosiers' hopes with a three-pointer with 2 minutes, 11 seconds to go to put the Tar Heels up by 10, and UNC held on despite a desperate Hoosier rally that at one point cut the UNC lead to five.\n"I thought our guys fought hard tonight," IU coach Mike Davis said. "Offensively, we're still working. You have to give our basketball team credit because they stayed with it and played hard. We have to get better from games like this. Tonight, I thought we made a step in that direction."\nThe No. 9 Tar Heels came into Bloomington 4-1 and expected to continue the ACC's dominance of the Big Ten in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Illusions of a blowout win for the Tar Heels weren't realized in the first half as a game IU team battled the high-flying Tar Heels on both ends of the floor.\nAfter trailing 32-26 at half, the Hoosiers came out in the second half trying to get the ball inside to freshman D.J. White to take advantage of UNC junior Sean May's foul trouble. May had three fouls at halftime and only finished with 8 points.\nWith IU trailing 43-35 midway through the second half, sophomore Roderick Wilmont missed two free throws and McCants followed with another three-pointer to complete a crucial five-point swing and give UNC it's largest lead of the game, 46-35, with 11:52 left.\nA barrage of three pointers from Wright and Strickland kept the Hoosiers close as IU trailed 50-44 with less than eight minutes to play. The Hoosiers had an opportunity after May and McCants picked up their fourth fouls each in a two-minute span with seven minutes to go. \nBut IU couldn't take advantage as the Hoosiers went on a four-minute scoring drought until a pair of White free throws snapped it, but UNC still led after May scored another basket and a foul, pushing the lead to 53-46.\nThat was the closest the Hoosiers would come until the closing seconds when IU cut it to five with 13 seconds left, but a pair of Melvin Scott free throws provided UNC's winning margin.\nWright, who finished with 18 points, said this game is something the Hoosiers can build on as they go through a six-game stretch, including Saturday's match-up with defending national champion UConn.\n"That's something we really talked about in the locker room (after the game)," Wright said. "It's a game that we could've won if certain things bounce your way. No matter how you look at it even though we lost we won a lot of mental battles for ourselves to know that we're capable of competing at that level with the top-teams in the country."\nThe Hoosiers competed early as they came out hot in the form of one of their newest members -- Indianapolis native Robert Vaden. The 6-foot-5 Vaden hit a three-pointer on the first possession of the game on his way to scoring IU's first seven points. Vaden finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and four assists while playing 35 minutes.\nWhite scored 10 points and Marshall Strickland had 11.\nAssembly Hall fans came in with a mission Wednesday night -- give UNC center and Bloomington native May fits. May helped their cause with an early foul and a traveling violation and only scored one point in the first half. May didn't score his first field goal until a basket and a foul with 11:31 left to extend UNC's lead back to 11, answering a three by Wright. May finished with eight points in his much-publicized homecoming to the place most Hoosier fans felt assured he'd spend his collegiate career.\nUNC coach Roy Williams said he didn't think May was pressing. \n"I just don't think things went well for Sean (tonight)," Williams said. "I don't think he was tight. I thought he played well, especially down the stretch. He had some bad things said to him. Our depth saved us tonight." Williams said.\nThe sellout Assembly Hall crowd gave the Hoosiers a definite home court advantage, something both coaches pointed out after the game. Davis said he thought the crowd brought a lot of energy.\n"The crowd was great," Davis said. "Tonight, you could feel it in the air." \n-- Contact sports editor John Rodgers at jprodger@indiana.edu.