CAROLINA CRUISES BY DUKE : N. CAROLINA 97 DUKE 73.

Byline: Associated Press 

One-third of North Carolina's six-man rotation made sure the Tar Heels stayed perfect in its No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups.

Antawn Jamison got the second-ranked Tar Heels the lead and Ed Cota made sure it didn't get away in a 97-73 victory over top-ranked Duke on Thursday night.

Jamison scored 23 of his 35 points in the first half as the Tar Heels took a 16-point halftime lead. Cota came up big down the stretch when Duke closed within four points with 5:48 to play.

``We had two great players on that floor tonight for North Carolina against their whole team,'' North Carolina forward Vince Carter said. ``Antawn rose to the occasion and Ed stepped his game up.''

Jamison finished with 35 points and 11 rebounds and Cota had 12 points and 12 assists as North Carolina won the showdown of the nation's top two teams for the sixth time in as many appearances.

The Tar Heels (23-1, 9-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) seemed to have things under control as Jamison went 9 of 11 from the field in the first half as they opened a 50-34 lead.

``It was terrific,'' Jamison said. ``We kind of struggled for the first couple of minutes, but once we started getting it going, we just totally had fun out there.''

It was 64-44 with 14:45 to play when Duke (20-2, 9-1) made the run it seemed most of the record crowd of 22,050 at the Smith Center had been anticipating. The Blue Devils went on a 25-9 burst to get within 73-69 with 5:48 left.

``When you dig a hole like that for yourself it's tough to get back,'' Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. ``We still had a chance.''

The last six points of the run came on a play when North Carolina's Makhtar Ndiaye fouled out and was charged with a technical for slamming the ball to the floor. The four free throws and Trajan Langdon's jumper on the ensuing possession had Duke right back in it.

Enter Cota, who finished with 12 points and 12 assists.

The sophomore point guard scored six points and had two assists on the next six possessions as the Tar Heels, looking almost as exhausted as the Blue Devils, started a 24-4 run to close the game, including the final 18 of the game.

``We definitely had to suck it up. Things started going their way, but we came back on key and we got together,'' Jamison said. ``Great teams do that and we definitely did tonight.''

The 1-2 matchup was yet another first for rookie North Carolina coach Bill Guthridge and Dean Smith couldn't have done much better.

It was the ninth North Carolina victory in the last 10 meetings with its biggest and closest rival, just 12 miles away, and it tied the teams at the top of the ACC standings.

``He deserved this a whole lot,'' Jamison said of Guthridge. ``All week, he had us well prepared every day in practice. He had us focused. For him to come in and for us to win like this it's something special for him. I'm happy to be a part of it.''

Guthridge was his usual reserved self after the most one-sided game in the series since North Carolina's 105-81 win in 1983.

``I thought both teams came out a little bit tight early,'' he said. ``I think that can be attributed to both teams wanting to win very badly. Mike and I have both said that tonight is just another league game and we both have big games this weekend.''

``We were the better team tonight,'' Cota said. ``We'll meet them again at Cameron. That's the game we need to win.''

The Tar Heels and Blue Devils will play again Feb. 28 at Duke in the final regular-season game for both teams.

Duke was trying to match the best start in school history and its best in the league since 1964.

Jamison, who entered the game averaging 22.3 points, finished 14 for 20 from the field, making him 49 for 69 in his five games against Duke. He scored 11 straight points for North Carolina in the first half as it turned a 37-31 lead into a 48-34 advantage.

``He's tenacious, he's very competitive, he plays every play,'' Duke's Roshown McLeod said of Jamison. ``That's what great players do. Tonight he showed why he's a player of the year candidate.''

Carter and Shammond Williams each had 17 points for North Carolina, which shot 64 percent (40 for 63). The best any team had shot against the Blue Devils this season was Michigan's 48 percent in their only loss of the season.

McLeod and Chris Carrawell led Duke, which had won 11 straight, with 19 points each and Trajan Langdon had 12.

North Carolina's victory gave No. 2 teams a 13-19 record in 1 vs. 2 matchups and it was third straight for the lower ranked team, including North Carolina's 89-78 victory over Duke in Chapel Hill in 1994.

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Photo, Box

Photo: North Carolina's Antawn Jamison (33) and Ademola Okulaja (13) go after a block as Duke's Chris Carrawell (23) goes up in the first half.

Associated Press

Box: SUPER SHOWDOWNS