Tar Heels bid Maryland an ACC goodbye

The public announcer at the Dean E. Smith Center couldn’t catch his breath.

He didn’t have time to.

“James Michael McAdoo! … J.P. Tokoto! … Leslie McDonald!” he yelled into the microphone during a 11-0 game-opening North Carolina run that forced a Maryland timeout.

In its 75-63 victory against the Terrapins Tuesday night, the UNC men’s basketball team pounced on Maryland (13-10, 5-5 ACC).

Though not for the entire 40 minutes, the Tar Heels (15-7, 5-4) channeled the energy from the crowd and each other to conclude a 60-year ACC rivalry that will end with Maryland’s move after the season to the Big Ten.

“That first four minutes, or whatever it was, was crazy,” said sophomore point guard Marcus Paige, who finished with an ACC career-high 25 points . “That was the most energized I’ve ever been in a game.

“That helped us get through the first half, and our defense picked it up through the rest of the game.”

UNC’s outburst to start the night was reminiscent of former UNC guard Reggie Bullock’s first-half slaying of the Terrapins, which included the game’s first eight points, during last year’s meeting in Chapel Hill.

The only difference? It wasn’t a one-man show.

Play after play, a different member of UNC’s roster got involved, contributing to lift UNC to as much as a 16-point lead in just the opening five minutes of the game .

But the Terrapins silently crawled their way back into the game, cutting the deficit to just three points on multiple possessions.

So UNC pressed the rewind button and went back to the strategy it flourished through in the opening minutes of the game.

The Tar Heels got behind the crowd.

They gave the 17,225 in attendance a reason to turn up the volume.

Whether it was a diving ball save from freshman center Kennedy Meeks, Tokoto ripping a rebound from the rim or McAdoo — a 6-foot-9 forward — aggressively leading a fast break after a steal.

UNC’s hustle and physicality translated to rocking risers and crisp claps, fueling the Tar Heels on both ends of the floor — especially defense.

UNC held the Terrapins to no field goals in the final 6:25 of the opening period while lighting up the scoreboard to a 39-27 halftime lead.

Meeks attributed the team’s fast start to the amped intensity it has been playing with in practice.

“We’ve been playing that way the entire practice — two, two hours and 15 minutes of just going hard every time,” Meeks said. “I think, of course, that transitions over to the game and helps us out at the end, and at the beginning.”

From the opening tip of the final ACC regular season meeting between the two teams, UNC never trailed, finishing off the night with its 122nd win in the 179-game series.

But ask McAdoo if the win was the parting gift the team had hoped to present Maryland, and the junior forward will admit he failed to get the memo that the game could likely be the last time he’ll face the Terrapins.

“Didn’t know that,” McAdoo laughed. “We’re just excited to get the win and finish strong.”

But just like it did the entire night, the Smith Center crowd had McAdoo’s back.

One of the last things the Terrapins heard before leaving the court was not the public announcer calling a Maryland basket or even a string of Tar Heel names like they did in the opening minutes.

It was the fans saying goodbye with one last chant.

“A-C-C.”

sports@dailytarheel.com