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. Authentic Ron Jaworski Jersey . 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LOUIS -- After the morning skate, captain Jamie Benn vowed that the Dallas Stars would play to honour ill teammate Rich Peverley. With the forward following the Stars game against the St. Louis Blues from a hospital bed back in Dallas, Benn put his team over the top. Stars coach Lindy Ruff said Peverley, who is sidelined because of a heart issue that caused him to collapse on the bench on Monday, was well aware his teammates beat the Blues 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday night. "I texted him right after the game and he responded," Ruff said. "He was happy. He said Keep rolling. I just said at the end, See you tomorrow." Benn scored 3:42 into overtime to end the Blues five-game winning streak. St. Louis is first overall in the NHL standings. "Obviously, (Monday) night was a scary situation but today is a new day," Benn said. "We were thinking about Rich back home, but I thought we did a great job getting mentally ready for this game. "Were still in a big playoff push and we found a way to get two points." Defencemen Alex Pietrangelo and Roman Polak ended lengthy goal droughts for the Blues, who lost for the first time in five games with new goalie Ryan Miller. They might have run into an inspired team. "Youve got to give them credit. Theyve been through a lot in the last 24 hours," Blues forward Steve Ott said. "Its pretty honourable for them to come out and play like that." Colton Sceviour, one of two call-ups by the Stars with Peverley out indefinitely and teammate Alex Chiasson also hospitalized due to emotional distress after his teammates "cardiac event," scored on a power play in the first period. Miller robbed the other call-up, Chris Mueller, with a glove save from point-blank range with 2:16 to go in the third. But he couldnt cross the crease in time to corral a shot from the right circle by Benn that gave Dallas its fourth win in five games. "I kind of knew he got lost up there, but no one was on the back side the way the play developed," Miller said. "I just didnt get my whole body over in time." The Stars hoome game against Columbus was postponed Monday night after Peverley fell ill.dddddddddddd Peverley remained hospitalized in stable condition on Tuesday while undergoing tests. "I told them, You can look for a reason to lose or you can find a way to win," Ruff said. "I said we need to find a way to win and we need to win it for a couple of our teammates." Benn has scored in three straight games and has seven points in a five-game streak. The Blues are 18-0-2 against the Central Division, breaking the franchise record of 19 consecutive games with a point in divisional play set in 1968-69. During the five-game winning streak, they never allowed more than two goals. After settling for one point, coach Ken Hitchcock saw only negatives. "I dont think were playing very smart," Hitchcock said. "Were not putting pucks in deep, were not getting on the grind, were turning way too many pucks over. "Players are going to have to dig in and start playing the right way." Polak tied it at 2 at 5:01 of the third period with his first goal in 37 games and fourth overall. He sent a drive through traffic that got past goalie Tim Thomas. Pietrangelo, who earlier this season became the first Blues defenceman to score 40 points in his first three seasons, snapped a 20-game goal drought in the first period. Pietrangelo had 11 assists since his previous goal on Jan. 10 at Vancouver. Antoine Roussel scored on a breakaway earlier in the period to put the Stars ahead, sending the puck slowly trickling between Millers pads. Roussel got free after David Backes flubbed a cross-ice pass near the blue line in the offensive zone. Sceviour, among the leading scorers in the AHL for the Texas Stars, scored his fourth goal in eight games this season against a team that had killed 33 of 35 power-play chances the previous 11 games. NOTES: Blues D Jay Bouwmeester played in his 700th consecutive regular-season game, the longest active streak in major sports. ... The Blues fell to 36-1-5 when scoring first. ... Roussel had one assist the previous four games. ... Polak has four goals, tying his career best for a season. ' ' '