CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- When it was over, Harold Deane did everything but tell the minicams he was going to Disneyland, but things weren't so giddy for Virginia and its sophomore point guard after 25 minutes of their encounter with North Carolina yesterday.
The Cavaliers were intimidated by Rasheed Wallace, and two minutes into the second half, they had made an embarrassing 27.5 percent of their shots. Deane wasn't the culprit, but after he drove the lane to get Virginia within five and went to tell the Tar Heels' Jeff McInnis about it, he was yanked aside and lectured by coach Jeff Jones in front of 8,357 fans at University Hall and a regional television audience.
"He [Jones] told me to relax," Deane said. "He wanted me to stay in control of the offense and not get in a one-on-one battle. Jeff and I are pretty good friends, and we were doing some talking."
A sophomore guard who was forced to grow up in a hurry last season, Deane added another episode to his maturation process with a nearly perfect second half against the Tar Heels.
The last two of Deane's 28 points came on free throws with 4.2 seconds to go, and all they did was give Virginia a 73-71 victory, create a two-way tie for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference and finish a really bad week for top 10 teams.
The outcome left Virginia and North Carolina at 10-3 -- a half-game in front of Maryland in the ACC -- and will keep the second-ranked Tar Heels from taking over the nation's No. 1 ranking. North Carolina was the seventh top 10 team to lose since the rankings were updated a week ago, and No. 3 Kansas is expected to assume the top spot from Connecticut today.
North Carolina (20-3, 10-3) would be No. 1 if not for a splendid show by Deane, which wiped away a horrid first half by No. 16 Virginia (18-6, 10-3). He made all eight of his shots in the second half, was 11 of 13 for the game and had five assists.
For the second straight year, Virginia has lost backcourt ace Cory Alexander to injury and Deane has emerged as a clutch performer. He had some help yesterday from freshman Curtis Staples, who had all 11 of his points in the second half, but without Deane, the Cavaliers were out of this one.
"It's pretty amazing that we could win as poorly as we played at the offensive end in the first half," Jones said. "I told them to forget about taking it inside, because Rasheed had taken that away. We went with a smaller lineup, and everyone played better, but Deane was the guy.
"He doesn't back down. His heart is huge, especially when someone is trying to embarrass him."
McInnis had 14 points when he scored in the lane to keep North Carolina on top 48-41 with 13:12 to go, but he had just one basket the rest of the way and the Tar Heels went nearly five minutes without another point.
In the interim, Deane and Staples made like Bird and Jordan in the McDonald's commercials, and Virginia, which made a blistering 69.2 percent of its attempts in the last 18 minutes, was off on a 17-0 run.
Deane and Staples combined for three long three-pointers in the spurt, and in a little more than five minutes, the Cavaliers had turned a 10-point deficit into an equally large lead, 58-48.
Wallace, the 6-foot-10 sophomore who had 23 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks, led the Tar Heels on an 18-9 run of their own. Virginia forward Jason Williford missed the front end of two one-and-ones in the last minute, which opened the door for Jerry Stackhouse to drive inside and tie it at 71 with 14.6 seconds to go.
The Cavaliers inbounded to Deane, who took the ball to the left side, drove the baseline and was met by Wallace, who blocked the shot out of bounds but was called for a foul.
Deane made both free throws, and Dean Smith's team, normally a master in late-game situations, stumbled. Pat Sullivan couldn't get the ball in bounds, and, after a timeout, threw the ball to midcourt, where Stackhouse was stripped by Staples.
For the second time in two weeks -- remember Maryland? -- North Carolina watched a massive celebration on the opponent's home floor, as Deane ran for some quiet time with Dick Vitale and several thousand fans tried to join the conversation.
It was Virginia's sixth straight win since a Feb. 1 loss at Maryland and their fifth over North Carolina in their last seven meetings here.
NORTH CAROLINA -- Calabria 3-8 1-1 8, Stackhouse 4-16 3-6 13, Wallace 9-11 5-7 23, McInnis 8-13 0-0 16, Williams 4-11 0-0 11, Zwikker 0-1 0-0 0, Sullivan 0-2 0-0 0, Landry 0-0 0-0 0, Geth 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-62 9-14 71.
VIRGINIA -- Burrough 3-14 2-5 8, Williford 5-8 0-2 10, Alexander 2-2 0-0 4, Robinson 3-9 3-3 10, Deane 11-13 2-3 28, Staples 4-15 0-0 11, Nolan 0-2 0-0 0, Barnes 1-3 0-0 2, Ellsworth 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-66 7-13 73.
Halftime--North Carolina, 32-24. 3-point goals--NC 6-17 (Williams 3-7, Stackhouse 2-3, Calabria 1-4, Sullivan 0-1, McInnis 0-2); V 8-20 (Deane 4-5, Staples 3-11, Robinson 1-3, Williford 0-1). Fouled out--None. Rebounds--NC 36 (Wallace 12); V 42 (Williford 12). Assists--NC 15 (McInnis 5); V 14 (Robinson, Deane 5). Total fouls--NC 17, V 18. A--8,357.