Miami Miami/North Carolina N. Carolina Men's College Basketball recap on ESPN

Brendan Haywood etched his name in North Carolina history by becoming the first player at the school to record a triple-double as the 14th-ranked Tar Heels (No. 12 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) beat Miami 67-45 Monday night.

"It's definitely good for bragging rights, but it's more important this team got the victory," Haywood said of his performance that included 18 points, 14 rebounds and a school-record 10 blocks.

Haywood became the 13th player in Atlantic Coast Conference history to hit double digits in three categories since the league was founded in 1953-54. No North Carolina player had done it in the school's 2,384 games.

"It just seemed like we showed some inexperience because we kept trying to shoot the ball over top of him," Miami coach Perry Clark said of the 7-foot Haywood. "At some point you think the guys would kick the thing back out and look for a better shot."

Warren Martin set the previous North Carolina block record of nine in 1985.

Coach Matt Doherty, a starter but more of a role player during his North Carolina playing days, laughed when asked how close he ever came to a triple-double.

"I played 10 minutes one game, I had more than 10 cups of water at halftime and I set more than 10 screens once," he said. "That was my triple-double."

The Tar Heels (4-2) rebounded after consecutive double-digit losses against Michigan State and Kentucky by holding Miami without a point for a span of 7:57 of the first half and 7:45 in the second.

"I was a basket case the last two days after the Kentucky game," Doherty said. "I was really depressed. You don't know how the team is going to react.

"During the pregame meal we were a little looser than I thought we should be," he added. "I didn't get on them, I just talked about it. I said, 'I don't mind you being loose, but we better come out mad. We lost two games in a row. We better come out smoking.' "

The Tar Heels held Miami to 23.4 percent shooting, the lowest by an opponent since Chattanooga shot 21.7 percent on Dec. 5, 1997, in Charlotte.

Kris Lang added 17 points for the Tar Heels. John Salmons led Miami with 12 points.

The Hurricanes (3-2), coming off a 32-point loss last week to Charlotte -- the program's worst in 10 years -- shot 18 percent in the first half to fall behind by 15.

Miami never got closer than 11 the rest of the way in losing its 12th straight game against a team from the ACC.

"It's a shame to waste such a fine defensive effort," said Clark, whose team forced 29 turnovers -- the most by North Carolina since 1988.

North Carolina led 39-28 with 14:49 left, then went on a 16-0 run as Joseph Forte hit a 3-pointer and dunk in a span of 18 seconds and Haywood added two free throws and a slam.

North Carolina lost starting forward Jason Capel with 8:02 left in the first half after he was fouled by Dwayne Wimbley on a driving layup. The junior bruised his buttocks and didn't return.

The two teams combined to go 3-for-19 with nine turnovers in the opening 7½ minutes as only nine points were scored from two clubs coming off lopsided losses.

But Ronald Curry, the school's starting quarterback who was seeing his first basketball action of the season, rallied the Tar Heels. North Carolina went up by 11 over the next six minutes as Miami went close to seven minutes without scoring.

Lang had 14 of North Carolina's first 25 points, while Haywood had three dunks and three of his six first-half blocks over the final 5:29 of the half as the Tar Heels took a 33-18 lead.

North Carolina, a combined 15-for-35 from the foul line in two losses, missed 8 of 11 from the free-throw line in the opening 20 minutes.

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AUDIO/VIDEO
Former Tar Heel Antawn Jamison on Haywood's triple-double.
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