News-Record.com

That didn't last much beyond my last post. With 9:28 left in the game, Virginia had gone from down 3 points to down 14. At that point, a group of school kids that had filled section 118 - among the more than 10,000 in attendance - started to file toward the exits.

Whether they left because they had a test to take or because they knew the game was over, their timing was pretty good. Before all the kids could get through the doors onto the concourse, Carolina extended its lead to 19 points in just 48 seconds of game time, putting an end to any hope of a Virginia upset.

With about three minutes to go, a coliseum worker was scooping up trash left behind by the kids in Section 118 and putting into a clear plastic garbage bag, giving new meaning to the phrase "garbage time."

Carolina's second-half surge didn't just disappoint the Virginia fans, who got a little rooting help from some Duke supporters, whose dark blue stood out among the orange-clad Virginia backers. Proving true the old adage that the enemy of my enemy is a friend, a few Duke fans were even waving orange pom-poms on sticks during the second half.

When Carolina guard Ivory Latta got pulled with about 2 minutes left in the game, she got the loudest basketball-related cheer of the game. In the second half, however, her ovation trailed the one received by the Carolina cheerleaders throwing T-shirts in the crowd and the unleashing of the remote-controlled Chick-Fil-A blimp.