By Dan O'Connell
For college basketball teams, the holiday season is usually just a brief interlude in a season that usually lasts into March.
Some teams will spend the holidays on the road, travelling to places like Hawaii and the Caribbean Islands to play in tournaments. For most teams, it's just a few days off in the schedule.
However, in December of 1988, the Tigers had a very special holiday treat. A few days before Christmas, Towson hosted national power North Carolina in Hershey, Pa.
Yes, that North Carolina - coached by Hall of Famer Dean Smith. The same Tar Heels who've been to numerous Final Fours and sent legends like Larry Brown, Michael Jordan, James Worthy, Sam Perkins and Billy Cunningham to the NBA.
Before setting the scene in Hershey, it's important to know two things about Dean Smith.
First of all, Dean Smith was always very loyal to his assistant coaches, past and present. In 1988, one of his former graduate assistant coaches, Terry Truax, was the head basketball coach at Towson.
Secondly, Dean Smith tried to honor his seniors by playing a game near their hometown. In 1988-89, Jeff Lebo, a native of Carlisle, Pa., was one of the Carolina seniors.
Since Coach Truax had a long relationship with Dean Smith and Jeff Lebo was a Pennsylvania state basketball legend, the stars aligned and Towson hosted Carolina in a neutral site game.
It was the first of a three-game series between Towson and Carolina. The other two games were played in Chapel Hill.
While the athletic staff at Towson knew this was a big event and a great opportunity for the program, nobody anticipated just how big it was. The game sold out HersheyPark Arena in just three days, leaving Athletic Director Bill Hunter wondering if he should have charged more for the tickets.
The media requests were overwhelming. There were more requests for credentials than seats available. Once the game was sold out, a local TV station, WGAL-TV requested permission to broadcast the game.
While North Carolina came into Hershey with the 8th-ranked team in the nation, the main attraction was Lebo.
A high school All-American at Carlisle High School, he led his high school team to the 1985 Pennsylvania state championship. While playing for his father, Coach Dave Lebo, Jeff Lebo started a three-year run where the Herd won three consecutive state titles.
When their favorite son returned with his UNC teammates, the community turned out en masse and filled HersheyPark Arena.
On Dec. 22, 1988, the odor of chocolate and all the Christmas lights of Hershey Park provided a festive atmosphere for the Towson-North Carolina matchup.
Although Towson was the designated home team, most of the fans in the crowd of 7,474 were rooting for the team wearing the blue uniforms.
The Tar Heels took the court, led by Lebo, who was one of seven players on that team to play in the NBA.
The 1988-89 Tigers became one of the best teams in school history. They had a 5-2 record as they entered the game. Towson was led by its stellar backcourt of junior Kurk Lee and freshman Devin Boyd.
While the Tar Heels boasted seven future NBA players, Lee played one season in the NBA before enjoying an outstanding pro career in Finland.
Despite the fact that the Tigers were a decisive underdog, Coach Truax was excited about the challenge his team faced.
Prior to the game, he said, "I know it's a chance to bring Jeff Lebo back to his home area to play. But for the Tar Heels, generally, this is just another game.
"For us, it's more than that," he added. "It's a tremendous opportunity to play against a program that does things the right way. North Carolina is the perfect example that you can do things the right way and still win."
Once the game started, Lee did his best to try and keep Towson in the game. Just 51 seconds into the contest, he drained a three-pointer from the right side to give Towson a 3-2 lead. Lebo followed with a three-pointer as UNC grabbed a 7-3 advantage. But Lee did his best to keep Towson in the game. When he nailed his third three-pointer with 16:16 left in the half, the Tar Heels' lead was 10-9.
Moments later, Lee stole the ball and fed Boyd for a breakaway layup to give Towson a 13-12 advantage. Midway through the first half, Lee's ten-foot jumper tied the game at 21-21. In the first 10 minutes, there were eight lead changes and Lee scored 13 of Towson's 21 points.
But with Lebo warming up, the Tar Heels took control of the game in the final ten minutes of the first half. He nailed back-to-back three-pointers to start a 10-0 run that put UNC ahead by 31-21 with 7:41 left in the half. After Towson cut the deficit to 31-24, the Tar Heels went on a 7-0 run for a 38-24 advantage.
By halftime, the Tar Heels were in control with a 48-30 lead.
In the first half, the Tar Heels shot 61.3 per cent from the floor and outrebounded Towson by 25-15.
Although Lee outscored Lebo in the first half by a 16-14 margin, Lebo had a lot more help. Scott Williams, who went on to play for the NBA Champion Chicago Bulls, scored eight points with five rebounds and two blocked shots while junior All-American J.R. Reid scored eight points in only seven minutes.
North Carolina removed all the drama in the opening minutes of the second half as the Tar Heels scored the first six points to erase any hopes of a Tiger comeback.
Senior forward John Bays did his best to keep the Tigers in the game. He scored all 14 of his points in the second half by hitting all four three-point attempts.
By the time the final horn sounded, the Tar Heels had beaten Towson with their depth.
Lebo scored a team high 19 points as six Tar Heels scored in double figures. Sophomore center Pete Chilcutt added 15 points and a game high 13 rebounds for UNC while Steve Bucknall, Hubert Davis, Reid and Williams had 10 points each.
While Carolina rolled to its eighth consecutive win, Lee was the star of the game. In only his eighth game as a Tiger, he scored a game high 34 points with six assists and eight steals.
Although the Tigers were overwhelmed on the backboards, they did a great job forcing turnovers. Towson forced 25 turnovers by North Carolina and had 15 steals.
Carolina went on to win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship before the Tar Heels were upset in the NCAA Tournament by Michigan.
As for Lebo, he finished his college career with 1,567 points and 580 assists and ranked among North Carolina's all-time leaders. After a brief career as an NBA player, he followed in his father's career path and became a college coach. Currently starting his sixth season as the head coach at Auburn, he also served as the head coach at Tennessee Chattanooga and Tennessee Tech.
While the Tigers were disappointed by the loss to UNC, they learned their lessons well. Despite a 28-point loss, they were not intimidated.
After the loss to North Carolina, the Tigers nearly upset North Carolina State, losing by 83-77 when Lee fouled out early.
Towson proceeded to finish the season with a 19-10 record, its best mark as an NCAA Division I program. After finishing second in the East Coast Conference, the Tigers were upset by Lafayette in the semi-finals of the ECC Tournament in overtime.
However, Lee was named as the ECC Player of the Year and Boyd was the ECC Rookie of the Year.
The following season, the Tigers won the ECC Tournament and made their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers faced number one-ranked Oklahoma and they nearly pulled off a major upset before losing, 77-68.
An honorable mention All-American, Lee finished his Towson career with 1,541 points. Named as the ECC Player of the Year twice, he was the Most Valuable Player in the 1990 ECC Tournament.
In his final college game, he scored 30 points in the Tigers' upset bid against Oklahoma.
