CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) North Carolina coach Roy Williams had a simple
message for his players before, during and after their latest lopsided victory:
"Enjoy it while you can," he told them. "Monday, you're going to boot
camp."
Sean May continued his recent tear, scoring 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting to
lead No. 4 North Carolina past William & Mary 105-66 on Sunday.
Raymond Felton finally missed a 3-pointer, ending his run of 12 straight,
but that was about the only problem for the Tar Heels (12-1). They have won 12
in a row since losing to Santa Clara in the opener, and they start the bulk of
their Atlantic Coast Conference schedule Saturday against No. 24 Maryland.
With nearly a week to prepare, and classes not in session, Williams has
two-a-day workouts planned for each day except Tuesday. What does he hope to
improve?
"Everything we have," he said. "We don't run it as well as we could. We
don't defend as well as we could. Anyone who thinks we're as good as we can be
is not being very realistic."
Jawad Williams had 19 points, Rashad McCants added 15 and Felton finished
with 12 assists for North Carolina. In the past seven games, May is shooting 66
percent and is averaging 17.4 points, all since he scored a season-low eight
points at Indiana on Dec. 1.
"This is probably the most important week of the season," May said. "It's
going to be tough. We'll probably be on the line a lot, running, for a lot of
the little mistakes we've been making."
The Tar Heels scored more than 100 points for the second straight game, the
first time that's happened in exactly 10 years, when they beat Marshall 116-62.
Getting there wasn't easy in this one, since a 3-pointer by McCants accounted
for their only points in the first 4½ minutes.
A 14-0 run over a 3-minute span late in the first half helped North Carolina
take control, and 11 consecutive points to start the final 20 minutes made it
64-32.
"We handled the trap well early, they didn't trap as many times early, but
we had some turnovers and it led to easy transition baskets for them, as
opposed to having to work for the baskets," Tribe coach Tony Shaver said.
Corey Cofield and Nate Loehrke each had 16 points for William & Mary (4-6).
After a quick start - it was tied at 20 midway through the first half - the
Tribe fell apart. They went nearly 11 minutes spanning halftime with only two
baskets, and they committed 11 of their 19 turnovers in the opening half.
It wasn't the type of homecoming Shaver wanted. A 1976 graduate of North
Carolina, he played was a walk-on for Dean Smith before eventually earning a
scholarship, and he was named the team's freshman of the year.
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