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BOX SCORE
ATLANTA (AP) – Joseph Forte didn't have his normal shooting
touch and was on the verge of fouling out. Still, there was little
doubt he would have the ball for North Carolina at the end.
|  | | Joseph Forte jams two of his game-high 27 points for UNC. |
The sophomore guard scored 27 points, including two critical
free throws, and the Tar Heels (No. 5 ESPN/USA Today, No. 6 AP) survived a scare from feisty
Georgia Tech for a 70-63 victory Saturday in the semifinals of the
Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.
Forte, who also had 12 rebounds, made the free throws with 33.6
seconds remaining after a disputed foul call against Tech's T.J.
Vines.
Forte finished with a layup at the buzzer as the Tar Heels
(25-5) advanced to the final against No. 3 Duke, which defeated No.
11 Maryland 84-82 in the second semifinal.
"My teammates have confidence in me," Forte said, "and I have
confidence in myself."
Even though Forte was struggling from the outside, forcing him
to penetrate the lane for many of his points, and had to play the
last 11 minutes with four fouls.
"We expect him to get it going," teammate Ronald Curry said.
"When it wasn't going in for him, coach was like, 'What do you
want to do?' We were saying, 'Hey, get the ball to Joe.' Even if
he's 0-for-20, we still want him to take the last shot of the
game."
Forte avoided his fifth foul and made most of the key baskets
down the stretch – a 3-pointer than sneaked over the rim, a 15-foot
jumper with about two minutes left, and the two free throws after
Shaun Fein hit a 3-pointer to bring Tech within 64-63.
"Every time Forte had an open shot, he knocked it down," Tech
coach Paul Hewitt said. "He should be the player of the year in
the ACC and in the nation."
Brendan Haywood added 13 points for the Tar Heels, but it was
his work at the defensive end that earned kudos from coach Matt
Doherty.
Tech's All-ACC center, Alvin Jones, scored 20 points, grabbed 12
rebounds and blocking six shots in a quarterfinal victory over No.
12 Virginia. With the 7-foot Haywood standing in his way, Jones
managed only seven points on 3-of-16 shooting.
"That was really the key to the game," Doherty said. "I know
Paul has talked about Alvin being the best center in the ACC, but I
wouldn't take Brendan for anyone."
Haywood was bit perturbed about being bumped to the conference's
second team behind Jones. He also was looking to show the NBA
scouts that he's the better prospect among the two seniors.
"This was more than a college basketball game," said Haywood,
who also had three blocks. "We were playing for money a little
bit. You hate to say it, but it's true."
Fein led the Yellow Jackets (17-12) with 18 points, while Jones
had 16 rebounds and three blocks. Tech hung tough despite a
horrible stretch in which they missed 17 shots in a row,
encompassing the final eight minutes of the first half and the
first 2½ minutes after the break.
During that time, in which Tech also made six turnovers, the Tar
Heels turned a 23-16 deficit into a 35-25 lead.
"North Carolina is a great team, but we played our hearts out
today and left everything out on the floor," Fein said. "We have
nothing to be ashamed of."
Georgia Tech, which has seven victories over Top 25 teams this
season, can only hope it's done enough already to earn an at-large
bid to the NCAA Tournament.
"I think we're well deserving of an NCAA Tournament bid," Fein
said. "That's been our goal all year, and that's what we've been
working toward. We had a shot to win this one today and just let it
slip away at the end."
North Carolina doesn't have to worry about getting into the NCAA
field, but the Tar Heels are in position to lock up a No. 1 seed in
the tournament with one more victory.
They already are the winningest team in ACC tournament history
with 15 championships. This will be their 27th appearance in the
final in the 48-year history of the event.
The Tar Heels were on the verge of turning the game into a rout
when Jason Capel hit a free throw with 16 minutes remaining for a
43-30 lead.
But Georgia Tech suddenly found its range. Fein hit back-to-back
3s, Vines tied the score at 53 with a three-point play and Robert
Brooks put Tech ahead for the final time, 55-53, on a lay-in with
7:02 left.
At that point, North Carolina seemed on the ropes, with many of
the Duke and Maryland fans at the Georgia Dome waiving gold pompoms
in support of the underdog.
But Capel hit an acrobatic scoop shot from under the basket with
1:15 remaining and Forte got the biggest call of the game: a foul
against Vines, who appeared to make slight contract before the
North Carolina player fell to the court.
Hewitt was livid, chasing down the officials to complain when
the game was over. Not surprisingly, Forte said it was the proper
call.
"Yeah, it was a foul," he said. "Those things are just part
of the game. We got some bad calls. Luckily, my call was good at
the end."
Even after Forte's two free throws, Tech still had a chance to
tie. But Tony Akins misread Fein and threw the ball away before the
Yellow Jackets could attempt a shot.
Against a desperate press, Julius Peppers got loose at the other
end for the clinching dunk.
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Georgia Tech Clubhouse
North Carolina Clubhouse
Pride drives Duke, UNC into Act III
NCAA Basketball Championship Week
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Joseph Forte muscles to the hole and scores with the pump fake jumper for the Tar Heels.
avi: 1213 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Georgia Tech's Alvin Jones fights his way to the hoop to make a tough layup.
avi: 1146 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Tar Heels' Joseph Forte jumps high in the air for the strong two-handed slam.
avi: 1530 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jason Capel spins the ball in off the glass for the amazing reverse layup.
avi: 1519 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Joseph Forte makes it clear that he wants Duke.
wav: 81 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Jason Capel and North Carolina weathered a storm in the second half to get past Georgia Tech.
wav: 98 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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