UNC gets back on track with rout of Wake

Reyshawn Terry scored 23 points, Tyler Hansbrough added 16 and No. 5 North Carolina routed Wake Forest 104-67 on Saturday.

Brandan Wright had 15 points and fellow freshman Wayne Ellington added 11 for the dominating Tar Heels (22-3, 8-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who cracked the 100-point mark with more than 3 minutes remaining, reached triple-figures for the seventh time and fell one point shy of the season-high 105 they scored Dec. 19 against Florida Atlantic.

North Carolina avoided a host of distractions _ which included the imposing presence of Michael Jordan sitting behind a basket _ by shooting nearly 61 percent in the first half, building a huge halftime lead and cruising to its second win of the season against the Demon Deacons.

The 37-point margin of victory matched North Carolina's most lopsided victory of the series, matching the Tar Heels' 100-63 romp on Jan. 25, 1984.

Kyle Visser had 11 points before fouling out with about 9 minutes left to lead Wake Forest (11-13, 2-9).

The Demon Deacons didn't get closer than 19 points in the second half of their first visit to the Dean Smith Center since 2003, and their three-game winning streak on North Carolina's home floor ended.

The Tar Heels had plenty of chances to lose their focus. They were coming off an emotional 79-73 victory at rival Duke, and the school was honoring the 50th and 25th anniversaries of its national championship teams in 1957 and 1982. James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Jordan and coach Dean Smith made for an intimidating scene as they watched from behind the basket Wake Forest shot at during the first half.

Aside from a brief hiccup midway through the first half, though, North Carolina was in control from start to finish.

Wake Forest momentarily made things interesting, using a 13-2 run to erase a 10-point deficit and taking its first lead when Kevin Swinton's dunk made it 21-20 with just under 9 minutes until halftime.

The teams traded baskets before the Tar Heels closed the first half with a 29-9 burst keyed by Ellington and Hansbrough. Ellington started the decisive run when his 3-pointer from the right corner put North Carolina ahead to stay and had eight points during the burst, Hansbrough had six and the Tar Heels led 51-32 at half.

It was Wake Forest's first game in Chapel Hill since Dec. 20, 2003, when the Chris Paul-led Demon Deacons beat the Tar Heels 119-114 in a triple-overtime thriller regarded as one of the best games in ACC history. For a while in the second half of this one, North Carolina threatened to match that point total in regulation.