"They're just too big for us to be going small," Evans said.
"There was not much else we could do," Bennett said.
One play embodied the Tar Heels' physical superiority.
With 7:08 left, the teams broke for a television timeout. Carolina (25-4, 12-2) had possession under its own bucket with only two seconds showing on the shot clock.
Inbounding from the left of the rim, Kendall Marshall threw a lob that the 6-foot-11 Henson snatched with his left hand and dunked over the 6-6 Harris.
Virginia can take plenty from this game.
* The Cavaliers' rebounding deficit was 19, only one less than in the teams' first encounter, but they limited the Tar Heels to five offensive boards, 18 fewer than two weeks ago.
* Harris, who had scored only 10 points combined in the three games since breaking his left hand at Carolina, scored 12 on 5-of-10 shooting and added five rebounds, three assists and a career-high three blocked shots. He also defended effectively against Harrison Barnes, who missed 12 of his 15 shots.
* Evans (13 points, five rebounds, three assists, no turnovers) completely outplayed his former Boo Williams AAU teammate Marshall (one point on 0-for-6 shooting, six assists, three rebounds and two turnovers).
* Virginia limited the nation's No. 2 scoring team to a season-low in points, 29 below its average.
* The Cavaliers committed a season-low four turnovers.
But for all those positives, the locker room was very downcast.
"It really stings," Evans said.
Recalling the 70-52 loss at Carolina, Mitchell said, "I definitely feel worse after this one."
David Teel can be reached at 247-4636 or by e-mail at dteel@dailypress.com. For more from Teel, read his blog at dailypress.com/sports/teeltime and follow him at twitter.com/DavidTeelatDP