University of Virginia Library

ACC Roundup

UNC Conquers USC

North Carolina defeated South
Carolina 68-62 last night in
Columbia to practically insure their
top seeding in the ACC
tournament.

Ahead at halftime 34-27, UNC
quickly stretched their lead to ten
points early in the second half. But
the Gamecocks rallied behind their
fine shooting guard John Roche to
close the gap to 50-48 with 12
minutes to play.

Three baskets by Charlie Scott
pushed the Tarheels into a 59-54
lead whereupon Dean Smith's crew
went into their 4-corner offense. It
was the key to the game as it
sucked the Gamecocks out of their
tight zone and forced them to
commit-damaging fouls.

Yet when UNC's Rusty Clark
fouled out with 4:17 to play and
the score 59-58, the game was far
from over. But with one minute to
go at 64-62, Roche was called for
charging, his fifth foul; and that
was the cookies for USC.

Clemson's Butch Zatezalo bids
to become the fourth player in
ACC history to win back-to-back
scoring titles. The sharp-shooting
junior is eleven points ahead of
sophomore sensation John Roche
of South Carolina.

The company that Zatezalo
hopes to join includes Buzzy
Wilkinson of Virginia, Len Chappell
of Wake Forest and Billy
Cunningham of North Carolina. All
three were All-America selections.

Meanwhile, Zatezalo and Roche
have two games and the
tournament in which to settle who
will emerge as the top scorer for
1969. If either should falter, look
out for Maryland's Will Hetzel who
is a solid third averaging 23 points a
game. Hetzel has been the hottest
shooter in the league since
February.

The rebounders are led by a pair
of sophs, USC's Tom Owens and
Duke's Randy Denton. They are
tied for the lead, averaging 13.4 a
game. Gilbert McGregor of Wake
Forest is third, and Hetzel ranks
fourth. North Carolina's Bill
Buniting remains the top field goal
percentage shooter and the only
player hitting better than 60
percent from the floor. The next
three in line are Mike Wilkes, Norm
Carmichael and John Gidding all of
Virginia.

Wake's Carlie Davis is still the
free throw leader, having hit on 152
of 174 for .874 percent. Other
familiar names in the top ten
include Bunting (3rd), Zatezalo
(4th), Roche (5th), and Hetzel
(6th).

North Carolina, ranked among
the top three in the nation all year
long, are the ACC's premier
offensive club. Averaging 92.2
points a game, they are within
striking distance of a new
conference record. Duke's 1965
club averaged 92.4 for 25 games.

South Carolina, moving steadily
up in the polls, continue to lead the
league in defense, giving up only
64.1 points a game. This is no
where near a record, but the mark
puts the Gamecocks in the nation's
top ten for defense.