CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP)—Deon Thompson scored 14 points in his final home game to help North Carolina hold off Miami 69-62 on Tuesday night and become just the second team in NCAA history with 2,000 victories.
Fellow senior Marcus Ginyard added 12 points as the Tar Heels (16-14, 5-10 Atlantic Coast Conference) won consecutive games for the first time in 2010. Coming off a surprise win at Wake Forest, North Carolina got off to a fast start against the Hurricanes, then used a 13-0 first-half run to go ahead for good.
Hitting the 2,000-win mark provided an achievement in an otherwise frustrating centennial season for North Carolina, though Kentucky already reached that milestone in December. No. 2 Kansas has 1,997 victories heading into Wednesday’s game against No. 5 Kansas State.
The Hurricanes (18-11, 4-11) made the Tar Heels work for it, cutting an 18-point deficit to one in the final 3 1/2 minutes.
