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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Marcus Paige and his North Carolina teammates have endured so many wild swings -- big wins, surprising losses, NCAA drama -- that no one can blame their Hall of Fame coach for wondering whats next. And yet, a month after sitting at 0-3 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Tar Heels are surging after a rousing comeback against their fiercest rival that had their fans rushing to midcourt to celebrate when it was over. Paige scored all 13 of his points in the second half, including two big baskets in the final 2 1/2 minutes, to help UNC beat No. 5 Duke 74-66 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Senior Leslie McDonald added a season-high 21 points for the Tar Heels (19-7, 9-4 ACC), who rallied from 11 points down in the second half to beat the Blue Devils (21-6, 10-4) in a rivalry game postponed more than a week by a winter storm. It was by far North Carolinas most impressive win during its run. Before Thursday, most had come against teams standing sixth or lower in the ACC standings. "Im not going to say were a finished product because weve got games left," Paige said, "but man, were playing really well right now and were winning games in a lot of different ways." It marked UNCs third win against a top-five team this season, along then-No. 1 Michigan State and then-No. 3 Louisville. Throw in then-No. 11 Kentucky in December, and the Tar Heels have beaten the top four teams from The Associated Press preseason Top 25. Not bad for a team that never had top player P.J. Hairston due to NCAA violations for improper benefits. "It was a bunch of guys that fought really hard," coach Roy Williams said, "and I couldnt be prouder of my team than I am right now." After filling the entire court after the horn, thousands of fans mobbed Franklin Street on the north end of campus to continue a celebration that came eight days later than they had hoped due to last weeks winter storm. The storm brought enough snow and ice to paralyze area roads and kept Dukes bus from even making it to Durham to pick up the team for the 11-mile drive to the Smith Center in Chapel Hill. The Tar Heels made it worth the wait for their fans by being tough enough to wrestle control from the Blue Devils. They shot 50 per cent from the field after halftime and even made their last 10 free throws after a disastrous start at the line. Jabari Parker and Quinn Cook both scored 17 points for Duke, which led 51-40 with about 15 minutes left before going ice cold from the field. The Blue Devils missed 13 straight shots and went scoreless for 6 minutes at one point, helping the Tar Heels climb back in it by mixing a 1-3-1 zone with man defence. "They would just keep switching," Cook said. "Wed come down, and we wouldnt know what theyd be in. They kept us on our toes with their defence." Duke shot 36 per cent (11 for 31) after halftime and made 5 of 22 3-pointers for the game, Coach Mike Krzyzewski said he thought his team "played young" in the second half. "We looked tired or we didnt have life," Krzyzewski said. "And no matter what we did in a timeout, we just didnt have that spark -- the anger, the emotion, the thing you have to have to match what their crowd, their team is doing. You have to try to counter that. And I just felt we were, we didnt have the life that you needed to have." Paige provided plenty of that fight for the Tar Heels. After being hounded by Duke defenders Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon through his scoreless first half, he scored nine points in the final 5 1/2 minutes starting with his only 3-pointer of the night. McDonald hit the go-ahead jumper to make it 62-60 with 3:54 left, capping his own strong performance after two straight 1-for-8 shooting performances. Paige followed with a stepback jumper over Rodney Hood with 2:11 left, then answered Parkers free throws by driving for a scooping layup through the heart of Dukes defence. After Sulaimon missed a 3 on the ensuing possession, freshman Nate Britt followed with two free throws that pushed the lead to 68-62 with 46.2 seconds left and soon had the rowdy home crowd inching closer to the court. It marked the 11th time Paige has scored in double figures in the second half this season after scoring four or fewer in the first. The postponement created a four-games-in-eight-days stretch for both teams, though its particularly challenging for Duke with No. 1 Syracuse visiting Cameron Indoor Stadium on Saturday night in a rematch of the overtime classic won by the Orange earlier this month. UNC hosts Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon. Signed Tom Brady Jersey . Sources tell TSN that union executives travelled to select CFL cities Monday to open dialogue with players and answer questions. After the tentative deal was reached Saturday night, several players posted messages of frustration and disappointment on social media - and that carried over into Sunday on both the web and the field. Sports Jerseys From China .com) - The Toronto Raptors are paying Rudy Gay a visit on Wednesday night when they head into the Sleep Train Arena to take on the Sacramento Kings. https://www.sportsstarsjerseys.com/ .Hammel pitched inside more and it helped him get into the seventh inning as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Friday night. Michael Jordan Jersey Throwback . A little more than one year after missing a last-second tip-in that would have given the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, the 6-foot-8 forward scored on a layup with 7. Michael Jordan Jersey North Carolina .FIFA said its appeals panel ruled the case not admissible.The former U.S. Attorney had objected to ethics judge Joachim Eckerts summary of the World Cup bid investigation, claiming numerous materially incomplete and erroneous representations of his work.(SportsNetwork.com) - The disappointing Ottawa Senators hope to record consecutive wins for the first time since early November, as they visit the Boston Bruins on Friday for the opener of a home-and-home series. The Senators halted a three-game slide just before the Christmas break, shocking the Pittsburgh Penguins in Mondays rout at Canadian Tire Centre. The Penguins had won seven in a row heading into the meeting, but left Ottawa with a 5-0 loss. Erik Karlsson collected a goal and two assists and Craig Anderson posted a 27- save shutout, as Ottawa slammed the visiting Pens. Bobby Ryan, Kyle Turris, Zack Smith and Cory Conacher each lit the lamp once in the blowout. "Everybody came to play," Anderson said. "We grinded it out and we made it hard on them. We did the things we need to do to give ourselves a chance to win the game." Sens forward Mika Zibanejad missed Mondays game with an upper-body injury, but he could be back for this evenings tilt in Beantown. Zibanejad has eight goals and seven assists in 29 games for Ottawa this season. Ottawa will try to build off Mondays triumph by recording consecutive wins tonight for the first time since a three-game run from Nov. 5-9. Paul MacLeans club has battled inconsistency all season long and the Sens enter this home-and-home set in fifth place in the Atlantic Division, trailing first-place Boston by 15 points. The Sens did manage to record a win in their only meetiing with Boston this season, as the Bruins fell 4-2 at Ottawa on Nov.dddddddddddd 15. Jason Spezza tallied a goal and an assist for Ottawa and Anderson stopped 30 shots for the win. It marked the second straight win for the Sens over Boston following a five- game slide in the series. The Bruins still have claimed 13 of the past 16 meetings overall and have won six of the last eight encounters at TD Garden. Boston, which will make the return trip to Ottawa on Saturday, is aiming for a third straight win tonight after outscoring the opposition by a 10-3 margin over its last two outings. After downing the visiting Sabres by a 4-1 count last Saturday, the Bs posted a 6-2 triumph Monday night in Nashville. Jarome Iginla scored twice as Boston used a terrific special teams effort to subdue the Predators in Music City. Boston went 3-for-3 on the power play en route to winning for the seventh time in its last nine games. Reilly Smith and Carl Soderberg each recorded a goal and two assists for the Bruins, while Tuukka Rask stopped 32 shots for the victory. The win was the 400th in Claude Julien career as a head coach. Julien has recorded 281 of those victories with the Bruins. "You hope as a coach that theres lots more ahead for you," Julien said. Boston is 15-3-2 as the host this season and has won seven straight on home ice. The Senators are 7-7-3 as the visiting team and have dropped three in a row on the road. ' ' '