Tar

On a day when Johns Hopkins continued to struggle at the offensive end, it was the return of one of the nation's top attackmen - North Carolina's Billy Bitter -that ultimately made the biggest difference. Bitter, who missed last weekend's game against Maryland with a strained calf muscle in his left leg, scored a game-high four goals, providing a spark that the No. 12 Blue Jays simply couldn't match in an 11-7 loss Saturday to the No. 3 Tar Heels before an announced 4,012 at Homewood Field.

Marcus Holman has gone from being No. 4 to replacing No. 1. Holman, a freshman reserve attackman for the No. 3 North Carolina men's lacrosse team, is expected to start Saturday against No. 12 Johns Hopkins (4-4). That's because junior Billy Bitter, the team's most dangerous player and a favorite to win the Tewaaraton Trophy, is dealing with a leg injury that could sideline him for the second straight week. It might be a lot to ask of a freshman, but Holman, a Baltimore native and Gilman graduate, said he is up for the task.

If this was the game that proved North Carolina's program had arrived, then the No. 3 Tar Heels have made a major statement. On a day when their top attackman, Billy Bitter, didn't play because of a leg injury and their top midfielder, Sean DeLaney left the game in the third quarter holding his ribs, North Carolina still had too much in a 9-7 win against No. 5 Maryland before a near-capacity crowd of 4,542 at Fetzer Field. Maryland couldn't control Tar Heels freshman attackman Marcus Holman (Gilman)

Thomas Wood scored five goals and Billy Bitter had four as the No. 3 North Carolina men beat host No. 8 Duke, 13-7, Wednesday night. For a second straight year, the Tar Heels (6-0, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) have started the season with a 6-0 record. The Blue Devils (2-3, 0-2) had won 11 straight against Carolina. Bitter and Wood scored the first two goals of the game as the Tar Heels took a 3-0 advantage after the first quarter and never looked back. Max Quinzani had a hat trick for Duke.

Sean DeLaney had a career-high five points and redshirt junior goalkeeper Chris Madalon matched his career high for saves with 13 as No. 3 North Carolina beat No. 19 UMBC, 12-7, on Saturday. The Tar Heels remain unbeaten at 5-0 and the host Retrievers fell to 1-2. UMBC fell behind 4-0 and was 2-for-8 in extra-man opportunities. UMBC's Jamie Kimbles posted a career-best three goals and four points. Bobby Stockton contributed two goals and an assist, Kyle Wimer added three assists and Matt Latham (Liberty)

The Maryland women's basketball team arrived at the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament with uncertain NCAA tournament prospects. The ninth-seeded Terrapins' 83-77 victory over North Carolina on Thursday at Greensboro Coliseum made their case to the selection committee that much more compelling. Sophomore center Lynetta Kizer had a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, and freshman forward Tianna Hawkins added 13 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. The Terrapins played the final 5:28 with four players with four fouls, including Kizer and Hawkins, but did not commit an infraction the rest of the way. Instead, Kizer's basket with 3:14 left gave the Terrapins a 71-61 lead.

Freshman Leslie McDonald scored a season-high 16 points and North Carolina ended a three-game losing streak by beating host Wake Forest, 77-68, on Saturday. Will Graves had 13 points and Larry Drew II added 10 for the Tar Heels (15-14, 4-10 Atlantic Coast Conference). The defending national champions, who entered having lost 10 of 12, avoided falling below .500 by locking down on Al-Farouq Aminu and winning their first road game this season outside of North Carolina. Ari Stewart had 16 points to lead the Demon Deacons (18-8, 8-6)

The Navy men's lacrosse team might have avoided the storm projected to hit the Annapolis area Thursday night, but the same could not be said for what North Carolina delivered. The No. 3 Tar Heels scored the game's first six goals as they overwhelmed the No. 11 Midshipmen, 11-4, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. North Carolina senior attackman Gavin Petracca led all scorers with seven points on two goals and five assists, and senior midfielder Sean DeLaney added three goals and two assists for the Tar Heels, who improved to 4-0 for the third consecutive season.

The Navy men's lacrosse team may have avoided the storm projected to hit the Annapolis area Thursday night, but the same could not be said for what North Carolina delivered. The No. 3 Tar Heels scored the game's first six goals and pretty much had their way as they overwhelmed the No. 11 Midshipmen, 11-4, at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Navy senior attackman Gavin Petracca led all scorers with seven points on two goals and five assists, and senior midfielder Sean DeLaney added three goals and two assists for the Tar Heels, which improved to 4-0 for the third consecutive season.

Trevor Booker scored 18 points and Clemson won back-to-back games for the first time in almost a month with a 74-66 victory over visiting Miami on Saturday. The Tigers (18-7, 6-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) hadn't won consecutive contests since taking three straight the first half of January and had been in danger of falling out of the ACC chase. Instead, Booker's inside play and Clemson's outside shooting touch were too much for the Hurricanes (17-8, 3-8). Andre Young had four of the Tigers' nine 3-pointers.