By Briana Gorman

bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668

LEXINGTON, Ky. — North Carolina coach Roy Williams said earlier in the week that he’s the biggest fan of Kentucky’s John Wall, but for reasons he didn’t want to publicly address, he never offered the Raleigh native a scholarship.

And Saturday, Wall showed Williams and the rest of the Tar Heels what they’re missing.

The freshman scored 16 points — 13 in the first half — to help lead the fifth-ranked Wildcats to a 68-66 victory over the No. 10 Tar Heels at Rupp Arena and give Kentucky their first win in the 10-year-old series since 2004.

“I thought he dominated the game,” Williams said.

But even though Wall’s impressive first-half performance pushed the Wildcats’ lead to as many as 19, the Tar Heels clawed their way back into game in the second half — with a little help from Wall’s absence because of cramping. UNC (7-2) got within two with 32 seconds left, but then the Wildcats went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line to seal the victory.

“We definitely responded,” said Deon Thompson, who led UNC with 14 points. “To be down the way we were down at halftime, we kind of weren’t up as we needed to be, but we continued fight and the game could’ve went any way at the end. We definitely gave ourselves an opportunity and a chance to win the game.”

The Tar Heels trailed 43-28 at halftime but went on a 10-2 run at the start of the second half to get within seven. UNC continued to whittle away at the lead and a Tyler Zeller jumper put the score at 59-56 with 4:29 to play.

The Tar Heels then had three chances to tie or take the lead, but couldn’t capitalize. Larry Drew II missed a 3-pointer and then threw the ball out of bounds while trying to pass to Zeller, before Marcus Ginyard missed another 3 from the top of the key. UNC finished the game shooting a season-low 38.8 percent from the field.

“If you care about a competitive basketball game at the end we got it close but we didn’t really ever get over the hump,” Williams said.

The Wildcats (8-0) pushed the lead back up to seven with 1:55 to play, but a 3 by Graves and a bucket by Thompson had the Tar Heels down just 63-61 with 32 seconds to go. Kentucky’s Eric Bledsoe, however, made three free throws and Wall added two more to make Graves’ 3 at the buzzer meaningless.

“We just got to make plays,” Ginyard said. “We were always just one step behind. We were doing so well and then we always just let them get their nose back in it a little more than us. We’ve just got to fight them off better in late-game situations like that.”

Part of UNC’s comeback in the second half was also due to the fact that Wall missed 7:02 with cramps. The freshman wasn’t quite as explosive or quick after receiving IV treatment in the locker room, but his two free throws with four seconds to play iced the game.

“They’re North Carolina, they’re one of the top teams,” said Wall, who could be the top pick in the NBA Draft in the spring. “It was great to come out here and beat them. Like I said before, they have a great coach and great players and we just came out with a tough win tonight.”

At the start of the game it looked like the Tar Heels would cruise to a win as they jumped to a 9-2 lead in the first three minutes.

But then Wall took over.

The freshman drove the length of the court for a dunk and then followed with another full-court reverse layup past Ginyard and Drew to kickstart a 28-2 Wildcat run and send the crowd of 24,468 into a frenzy. Wall scored eight points during the stretch as the Tar Heels turned the ball over eight times — including three straight possessions — and went 1-for-9 from the floor.

“We weren’t very patient in the first half,” Williams said. “When Kentucky’s defense became more aggressive, we panicked and took quicker shots. We didn’t get the basketball inside, and even when we did get it inside, we didn’t make an aggressive move.”

The Tar Heels, who boast one of the most talented frontcourts in the nation, were outscored 18-8 in the paint in the first half. UNC’s big men played a little better in the second half but Kentucky still outscored the Tar Heels in the paint (30-28) and outrebounded them 39-37. Wildcat forward Patrick Patterson led all-scorers with 19 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

“They definitely were physical with us and maybe pushed us off our position,” Thompson said. “And their guards did a great job of pressuring our guards, which made it difficult to get us the ball. That first 20 minutes, they definitely imposed their will on us.”