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NEW YORK — Two of the most storied programs in the history of college basketball squared off for the first time in more than two decades Friday night before an electric crowd at Madison Square Garden.

North Carolina and Syracuse have combined to win three of the last seven NCAA championships and rank second and fifth, respectively, on the all-time wins list.

When the teams finally clashed for the first time since 1987, Syracuse beat No. 6 Carolina, 87-71, in the championship game of the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic before 15,552.

Defending NCAA champion Carolina led 39-37 at the half but the Orange dominated in the second half, outscoring the Heels 50-32 and triggering chants of "Overrated" and "Let's go, Orange."

Carolina (4-1) missed its first 13 shots of the second half and made five turnovers as Syracuse (4-0) ran off a 22-1 run that turned the course of the game and put the Orange ahead 59-40.

"We got our tails beat by a very good basketball team and the second half for us was about as bad as you can play, I would hope," Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "We can't play any worse than that."

Division 2 Le Moyne College beat Syracuse earlier this year in an exhibition game, causing Williams to add: "I'd hate to play that non-Division 1 team on a regular basis if they're better than Syracuse."

Syracuse junior forward Wesley Johnson led all scorers with 25 points. He was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

"He presents a challenge," said Carolina forward Deon Thompson. "He's more of a three-man instead of a four. And for a four-man to have to guard him is a tough challenge and he played well tonight."

Williams hadn't coached against Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim since the 2003 NCAA championship game when a Carmelo Anthony-led Orange team beat the Kansas Jayhawks, 81-78.

This time around, the loss snapped Carolina's 44-game winning-streak against non-conference opponents.

"North Carolina has lost a tremendous number of players," said Boeheim, one of eight coaches with at least 800 career wins. "They're going to be a very, very good team, but they're not the team that they were, obviously. They lost great players."

Ed Davis led Carolina with 16 points and 10 rebounds, Marcus Ginyard had 15 points and eight rebounds and Thompson scored 11 points and grabbed seven boards.

Ginyard joined Ohio State's Evan Turner, Cal's Jerome Randle, Syracuse's Andy Rautins (11 points) and Johnson on the all-tournament team. Ohio State downed Cal, 76-70, in the consolation game.

Carolina went stone cold to start the second half and Syracuse rattled off a 22-1 run to go up 59-40.

After Johnson hit a 3-pointer from the top of the arc, Williams called a timeout and chants of "Let's go, Orange" echoed throughout the Garden.

Scoop Jardine scored for Syracuse out of the timeout before Tyler Zeller finally hit a jumper to end the Carolina scoring drought and make it 59-42.

Carolina used an 18-6 run to cut it to single-digits at 68-60 on a 3-pointer by David Wear.

But Syracuse rattled off another big 13-2 spurt, taking an 81-62 lead on emphatic dunk by Joseph.

"They beat the dickens out of us," Williams said. "It's been a while since somebody's beaten our team that badly."

Added Boeheim: "That's not the national championship team. If that team had been here, it would've been a totally different story."

NORTH CAROLINA (4-1) — Graves 2-12 2-2 8, Thompson 3-8 5-8 11, Davis 5-6 6-9 16, Ginyard 5-10 4-4 15, Drew II 0-2 0-0 0, Strickland 0-3 0-0 0, McDonald 0-2 0-0 0, Watts 0-1 0-0 0, Henson 0-2 1-2 1, D.Wear 1-3 0-0 3, T.Wear 4-6 0-0 8, Zeller 4-8 1-1 9. Totals 24-63 19-26 71.

SYRACUSE (4-0) — Jackson 3-4 1-1 7, Johnson 10-17 1-5 25, Onuaku 7-12 1-2 15, Rautins 4-9 0-0 11, Triche 5-6 1-2 11, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Jardine 3-8 0-0 6, Joseph 5-12 0-0 12. Totals 37-68 4-10 87.

Halftime—North Carolina 39-37.
3-point goals—North Carolina 4-16 (Graves 2-6, Ginyard 1-2, D.Wear 1-2, Henson 0-1, Strickland 0-1, McDonald 0-2, Drew II 0-2), Syracuse 9-21 (Johnson 4-8, Rautins 3-8, Joseph 2-4, Jardine 0-1).
Fouled out—Jackson.
Rebounds—North Carolina 42 (Davis 10), Syracuse 37 (Johnson 8).
Assists—North Carolina 14 (Drew II 6), Syracuse 20 (Rautins 7).
Total fouls—North Carolina 11, Syracuse 18.
A—15,552.