North Carolina, Kansas Suffer Losses

<br>Florida State never gave up, and Richmond refused to be intimidated. That's the way to pull off an upset against North Carolina or Kansas. <br><br>Two of the nation's most storied programs

Friday, January 23rd 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Florida State never gave up, and Richmond refused to be intimidated. That's the way to pull off an upset against North Carolina or Kansas.

Two of the nation's most storied programs lost in stunning fashion Thursday night, with the Tar Heels blowing a big lead and the Jayhawks falling at home to an Atlantic 10 team.

First, the host Seminoles erased a 24-point deficit and shocked No. 7 North Carolina 90-81 in overtime, ending a four-game losing streak.

``It was fools' gold for us, making all the jump shots and thinking it was going to be easy,'' said first-year Tar Heels coach Roy Williams, who spent 15 seasons at Kansas.

Then, the gutsy Spiders edged No. 12 Kansas 69-68 on Tony Dobbins' fadeaway jumper with a second left, snapping the Jayhawks' 52-game home winning streak against unranked opponents.

``Nobody said that everybody had it all figured out,'' said Keith Langford, who led Kansas with 18 points.

In other games involving ranked teams, it was: No. 2 Stanford 67, UCLA 52; and No. 14 Arizona 109, Oregon St. 75.

Mike Skrocki scored 23 points to lead the Spiders (10-8), who became the first unranked team to win at Kansas since Nebraska on Feb. 10, 1999.

``I thought our kids handled the pressure very well,'' Richmond coach Jerry Wainwright said. ``A building cannot make a shot for you.''

With Kansas (11-3) clinging to a 68-67 lead and the shot clock running out, Aaron Miles tried a 3-point shot that Dobbins knocked away. Miles got the ball back, but there wasn't time to shoot again and Richmond got the ball back on a shot clock violation.

Dobbins dribbled into the lane on the ensuing possession, spun and swished the game-winner. Kansas had time for one inbounds pass, but Wayne Simien was called for a pushing foul and Richmond ran out the clock.

``I wouldn't have shot it if I didn't think it was going to go in,'' Dobbins said. ``I let it go, and it felt great. I didn't shy away from it.''

Florida State looked completely overmatched as North Carolina's accurate shooting keyed a 21-0 run that helped build a 42-18 lead with just more than five minutes left in the first half.

But Seminoles reserve point guard Todd Galloway tied it at 78 on a 3-pointer from the corner with 7.2 seconds remaining in regulation, tying the game for the first time since the opening tip.

Riding the momentum of a stunning rally, the Seminoles quickly took control in overtime.

Tim Pickett scored six of his 30 points in the extra period for Florida State (13-5, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), which scored the first 11 points of overtime.

When the final buzzer sounded, fans poured onto the court in celebration.

``This is a very significant win for our team because North Carolina represents the tradition in basketball we're trying to get to,'' coach Leonard Hamilton said.

Rashad McCants scored 26 points for the Tar Heels (11-4, 1-3).

No. 2 Stanford 67, UCLA 52

At Stanford, Calif., Justin Davis made his first nine shots on the way to 21 points, and the Cardinal stayed unbeaten by beating UCLA.

Josh Childress started for the first time this season for Stanford, one of two undefeated Division I teams left in the country along with third-ranked Saint Joseph's. Childress came off the bench in five games as he regained his strength following a foot injury that sidelined him for the first nine games.

The star forward had 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals in 32 minutes.

Stanford (15-0, 6-0 Pac-10) has matched the fourth-best winning streak in school history and is chasing the school record of 20 straight victories to start the 2000-01 season.

Dijon Thompson scored 15 points for UCLA (9-5, 5-2).

No. 14 Arizona 109, Oregon St. 75

At Tucson, Ariz., Salim Stoudamire and Hassan Adams scored 20 points apiece for the Wildcats.

It was the 21st straight loss for the Beavers at McKale Center. Oregon State hasn't won at Arizona since 1983, the season before Lute Olson became the Wildcats' coach.

Arizona shot a season-high 63 percent (43-for-68) in its biggest offensive outburst since a 112-81 victory over Washington on Feb. 5, 1998.

The Wildcats (12-3, 4-2 Pac-10) put away the Beavers (8-8, 2-4) with a 36-8 run late in the first half and early in the second. Andre Iguodala had 19 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Arizona.