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By The Associated Press
Arizona Daily Wildcat
November 25, 1996
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Arizona coach Lute Olson admits he was worried about his young team. That lasted for one half.The 19th-ranked Wildcats, with four players making their first collegiate starts, used a career-high 31 points from junior Michael Dickerson and 22 from touted freshman Mike Bibby to beat No. 7 North Carolina 83-72 Friday night in the Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic.
Miles Simon, who was supposed to be the Wildcats' only returning starter from last season, was sitting in the stands because of academic problems. He had a good seat to watch his teammates pull away from a 29-29 halftime tie as Dickerson went 5-for-6 from three-point range and Bibby scored 16 points.
''I had been thinking a lot about this game and I don't think a game ever tore at me as this one had,'' Olson said. ''Anytime you go in without the guy who is your leader, you worry. And then the young guys were all talking about making their first starts. It was a scary situation and maybe that was part of the problem in the first half.''
The first half was ragged on both ends and Arizona had to consider itself lucky to be tied after shooting 33 percent and committing six turnovers.
But the Wildcats opened the second half with a 12-2 run, hitting their first five shots from the field, the last two three-pointers by Bibby and Dickerson. North Carolina continued to struggle from the field as Arizona increased the lead to as much as 67-50.
''We came out with more energy in the second half and stopped their penetration,'' Dickerson said. ''I always thought I was more of a driver than a shooter, but I just got the ball in the right place and I hit my shots. Their zone wasn't very good tonight.''
The closest the Tar Heels got was 69-59 and Arizona answered with a layup by Bennett Davison and a three-pointer by Dickerson.
''I thought they played very well for this early in the season,'' UNC coach Dean Smith said. ''I know we played better than we did in our last exhibition game. We did some good things defensively in the first half. In the second half, they showed they are a lot quicker.''
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