Tar Heels tarnish Arizona’s N.C. trip

Bobby Frasor found himself 30 feet from the basket with time running out in the first half. No one on his team – most of all Frasor – seemed surprised when what looked like a desperation heave rattled in.

“I’m a shooter, I can make that shot,” the freshman point guard said with a smile.

Armed with that bit of momentum, North Carolina cruised.

Tyler Hansbrough had 21 points and 11 rebounds, Wes Miller added 14 points on his 23rd birthday and the Tar Heels ruined Arizona’s first trip to Chapel Hill, N.C., with an 86-69 non-conference victory Saturday.

Reyshawn Terry and Danny Green each scored 13 points while Frasor added nine assists with no turnovers for the Tar Heels (12-5), who won for only the second time in the past five games. They shot a season-high 57 percent from the field to tie the all-time series with the Wildcats 3-3.

Each of the previous five came at neutral sites, including the final game of Dean Smith’s career in the 1997 NCAA Tournament. That was the most recent meeting, and North Carolina makes a return visit to Arizona next season.

“I think it was huge,” Hansbrough said. “Arizona’s usually a powerhouse of basketball, and it was a big win for us.”

Mustafa Shakur led the Wildcats (13-7) with 18 points, and teammate Marcus Williams had 17 despite a stomach virus. They had a three-game winning streak snapped in their most lopsided loss of the season.

“I think Carolina did a tremendous job in terms of the effort they put in,” coach Lute Olson said. “They put it in right from the start and they kept it going.”

Arizona’s struggles began in the waning seconds of the first half, when holding for the final shot and trailing by five points. Adams missed badly and the ball went out of bounds to the Tar Heels with less than 2 seconds remaining.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams called a timeout, and he had David Noel throw the inbounds pass. It connected with Frasor, and his shot went through to make it 39-31 at the break.

(17) UCLA 63, Oregon State 54

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute had 14 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bruins over the Beavers in Corvallis, Ore.

Jordan Farmar added 13 points and eight assists for the Bruins (17-4, 7-2), who remained in first place in the Pacific-10 Conference.

Sasa Cuic had 24 points and seven rebounds for Oregon State (10-10, 3-6).

UCLA held Oregon State’s two leading scorers, post man Nick DeWitz and guard Chris Stephens, to four points apiece.

USC 84, Oregon 78

Gabe Pruitt scored 30 points to lead the Trojans past the Ducks in Eugene, Ore.

Pruitt made 8 of 12 shots from the field for the Trojans (14-6, 5-4), 6 of 8 from 3-point range, and 8 of 12 from the free-throw line.

Reserve guards Chamberlain Oguchi and Bryce Taylor led the Ducks (10-11, 4-5) with 25 and 18 points, respectively. It was a career high for Oguchi.