James Mays and North Carolina's Alex Stepheson battle for a rebound. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

March 16, 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - North Carolina's Wayne Ellington did it to Clemson again, this time with an Atlantic Coast Conference championship at stake.

Ellington finished with 24 points while Tyler Hansbrough had 18 Sunday to help the top-ranked Tar Heels beat the Tigers 86-81 in the tournament championship game, a victory that almost certainly locks up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament while giving North Carolina a record 17th ACC title.

Ty Lawson had 12 points, five rebounds and eight assists for the Tar Heels (32-2), who managed a tough three-game sweep of the Tigers to earn their 11th straight win. Ellington added to his season-long torture of the Tigers, finishing 10-for-13 from the field to go with four rebounds and four assists.

K.C. Rivers finished with 28 points and six 3-pointers for the third-seeded Tigers (24-9), who have never won the ACC tournament and were in the final for only the second time after upsetting No. 7 Duke in Saturday's semifinals. Their last appearance in the championship game was in 1962.