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A Tale of Two HalvesFans at sold-out Rupp Arena were probably thinking, "Here we go again!" as their Cats trailed the Tar Heels 28-20 at half-time. They had seen their team struggle mightily to score in the half-court, shooting just 26%. Most of their baskets came on fast breaks or second-chance opportunities. Shots just were not falling, and they were turning the ball over way too much - 10 times in the first half alone. That said, the first few minutes were all-Kentucky, as they jumped out to a 12-4 lead. Then the Cats turned the ball over four of the next five possessions, letting Carolina take a 13-12 lead with 11 minutes to go. After exchanging baskets the two teams went scoreless for the next three minutes. After UNC built a 21-17 lead, another drought occurred, as three minutes passed without the score changing. The Tar Heels then closed the half with a 7-3 run. Melvin Scott provided most of the firepower for the Heels, scoring eleven points and hitting three treys. Watching the Cats' offensive woes was sure to remind the Wildcat faithful of the two previous games: a loss to hated Louisville, and a far-too-difficult win over Austin Peay. Fortunately, the Cats turned things around in the second half. They all but eliminated their turnovers - only three after the break. They took better shots and their percentages showed it - 55%. Gerald Fitch found his stroke - hitting 6 of 9 after going 2-8 in the first half. And Kentucky got some much-needed bench production - from seldom-used Ravi Moss and Bernard Cote. North Carolina began the second half by expanding their lead to 10 at 30-20, but Kentucky scored the next six, on lay-ups by Fitch, Erik Daniels, and Chuck Hayes. Fitch and Daniels scored the next 11 points for the Cats, and the score was tied 37-37. After trading a couple buckets with Carolina, the Cats finally took the lead at the 11 minute mark, 43-41. Apparently they liked the view, because they stayed on top for the remainder of the game. North Carolina stayed close, though, pulling within one with a minute to go. Gerald Fitch then hit a three pointer and Cliff Hawkins added a free-throw to seal the victory. Fitch led the Cats with 21 points to go along with four rebounds. Erik Daniels was a steady, and sometimes brilliant, presence in the paint, scoring 18 points on a variety of post-moves, and grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds. The other stars of the game did not put up as impressive numbers as Fitch and Daniels, but the contributions of Bernard Cote and walk-on Ravi Moss were invaluable. Ravi Moss scored four points and snagged three rebounds in just 10 minutes of action. Bernard Cote did not even score, but still played a huge part with 2 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 blocked shot. One of his assists came on a beautiful wrap-around pass to Ravi Moss. His biggest contributions were the killer screens he set, which allowed others to score. On three seperate occasions, his screens allowed Fitch to hit jumpers in the second half; and another one allowed Cliff Hawkins to get to the basket for his only field goal of the game.
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