Matt Ridge is, and forever will be, a part of the University of North Carolina basketball family. But after Wednesday’s 101-69 demolition by Davidson County Community College over his alma mater’s junior varsity team, he might be considered more of a stepchild.

Having played in the Carolina blue for two seasons on the UNC JV team, coach Ridge has experienced the feeling of donning a uniform with North Carolina written across the front. On Wednesday, he also realized how special it feels to beat the program in which he once competed.

It was a memorable night for everyone in the Storm community and Ridge intends on enjoying it for a little while, but there are bigger prizes ahead for him and his team to claim.

“We hope when we look back on the season it is not the highlight,” he said in a phone interview on Friday. “We are trying to keep things in perspective and use it as a confidence builder.

As coach of the Storm, Ridge entered the game 0-3 against the Tar Heels — the most recent loss at the Dean E. Smith Center where UNC won 81-69. North Carolina came in undefeated, but left with a thumping that made the bus ride back to Chapel Hill quite long.

Shockingly, DCCC was up 22 at halftime, playing one of its finest halves of basketball to date. Everyone in the building was aware of what the scoreboard read during play, except for the Storm coaching staff.

“I honestly try not to look at the score in the first half,” Ridge said. “It is funny, because at halftime we came in and coach (Brandon) Mullis said, ‘I didn’t know we were up 22 until I walked in here.’” I told him that is a sign of a great coach, because you are focused on what we are doing and not the scoreboard.”

Now aware of his team’s status, Ridge proceeded to give a halftime speech he has heard several times before.

“I told them the same message I heard for four years at Carolina — No basketball game is won or lost in the first half,” said Ridge.

The team was slow in response to the message to start the second half, allowing two UNC baskets in the first minute. The Storm burned a timeout to get refocused, and it was all DCCC after that. A 15-1 run doubled-up the Tar Heels, making the hyped up event quite uneventful for the last 14 minutes.

Still not all that worried about the score, Ridge finally looked up at the scoreboard at the time DCCC held its largest lead of the night and was stunned at what it read.

“We were up 80-42 and I looked up at the scoreboard and was a little taken back,” he said. “I think it was the most complete game we have played this year.”

Defense set the tone for Davidson. The guard pressure applied by Phillip Williams, Justin Glover and Derrick Mayo caused UNC turnovers and disrupted their offensive sets.

The offense was not that shabby either. DCCC nailed 12 of 20 from 3-point land, getting the ball to wide open shooters for much of the night who made big shot after big shot.

Having never beaten the Tar Heels, there could have been a lot of added pressure for Ridge, but he saw it as any other game, despite it being the same team he played for years ago.

“Pressure is something self-inflicted,” he said. “I feel pressure every game whether we are playing Piedmont Baptist or the UNC JV team. I honestly didn’t feel any more pressure against UNC than I did against Piedmont.”

The Tar Heels play just one away game each season, so the chances of them coming to Brinkley Gym again next season is unlikely. Considering the outcome, they may not want to come back anyway, but Ridge has already planted the seed for next season asking UNC coach Jerod Haase to put in a word to the staff for next season to once again schedule a home and home.

Regardless, it was an accomplishment that can never be taken away from Ridge, his staff and his players.

The record may read UNC, 3, DCCC, 1, but that one is all that matters for now.

LEXINGTON — No, the print is not blurry today.

Davidson County Community College dominated in almost every facet of the game, blowing away the University of North Carolina junior varsity 101-69 Wednesday in a nonconference showdown.

DCCC got 29 points from Rico Geter and 24 more from Justin Glover to avenge an earlier loss to the Tar Heels.

“I told our guys I figured it would be a war to the end,” said Storm head coach Matt Ridge. “I knew we were as talented as them, but to beat a well-coached team like that speaks volumes for our program.”

The game went back and forth for the first nine minutes until DCCC started to make its move. Kimani Hunt scored on a backdoor lob from Robbie Rives to set off a 9-0 Storm run. Patrick Crouch scored on a floater to break up the streak, so the Storm decided they would try it again.

This time it was just a 6-0 run, but when it ended, the Storm found themselves with a surprising 41-23 lead with 3:39 still left in the half.

Ford Tanner broke it up this time for UNC with a basket in the paint and pair of free throws at the line, but Davidson ended the 20 minutes with eight more unanswered points to stun the guests, leading 49-27.

The halftime break could not have come at a better time for Carolina, giving them a chance to regroup and see if things could change. Unfortunately, things would get much worse for the Tar Heels.

The DCCC train only stopped to refuel, as the Storm made sure there would be no comeback for the Tar Heels, who were on the road for the first and only time this season.

Two baskets by UNC opened up the final half, aggravating Ridge who called for time. The timeout was effective, as DCCC went crazy over the next four minutes and change.

A 49-31 lead went to 64-32, as DCCC was almost perfect on the offensive end while UNC had trouble making anything fall on their end. Hunt started the monster run with a 3-pointer and the rout was on.

DCCC kept creeping closer to the century mark, and Derrick Mayo finished off the memorable night laying the ball in with four seconds left to put the Storm over 100.

“It feels really good,” Ridge said. “We hope when we win the regionals it will feel even better.

Playing on the road turned out to be too tough of a challenge for the Tar Heels.

“I am not sure if they let it effect them, but all of the credit needs to go to Davidson County,” said UNC coach Jerod Haase. “They were absolutely fantastic.”

LEXINGTON — Davidson County Community College remained unbeaten in the Region X Tarheel Conference Saturday afternoon, edging the visiting Central Carolina Cougars 86-81 at Brinkley Gym.

Davidson led by as much as 23 points in the second half, but a strong effort by Central Carolina and a lapse in focus by the Storm allowed the outcome to be much closer than it actually was.

DCCC placed four players in double figures with Kimani Hunt setting the pace with 25 after a torrid first half. Rico Geter added 17, Justin Glover 16 and Phillip Williams had 11. Geter scored three of his on crucial free throws in the waning seconds, lifting the Storm to a 16-4 record overall, and 6-0 in conference.

“That is probably the maddest I have been at my guys all year, but the last minute we were able to execute things,” said Storm coach Matt Ridge. “We got the ball to Roderick and made sure he was the one getting fouled.”

Geter’s fastbreak layup with 6:52 to go gave DCCC its largest lead of 76-53, this coming on the tail end of a 12-3 run in a span of three minutes.

But plenty of talent was playing on the other side, mainly the duo of Travis and Jerome Perkins. The two scored 55 of the Cougars’ points, hitting 23 of their 47 shots taken.

Central Carolina went on a tear over the next five minutes, outscoring Davidson 19-2. That left what was a 23-point comfortable margin, now to an unstable six-point lead for the Storm as the clock ticked under 1:30.

Hunt, who only scored seven of his points in the second half, came up with the big play DCCC desperately needed. His strong drive to the hoop resulted in a basket and a foul, as he would make the free throw to make it 81-72.

Jerome Perkins swished in two 3s later for a five-point game with 15.5 seconds to go, but free throws by Geter iced it for the Storm.

“The last five minutes were pathetic on both ends,” Ridge said. “Once we got that 23-point lead we just shut down and thought the game was over. Hopefully, that is a wakeup call to our guys.”

The first half was all Storm, as Hunt had the hot hand in the early going. He scored 13 of the team’s first 22 points, with DCCC up 10. Hunt’s third 3-pointer of the half put the Storm up 36-22, then six more points went to the home team on an alley-OOP slam by Glover, a baseline jumper from Robbie Rives and sold post move off the glass by Bryan Roberts.

Travis Perkins scored 19 of his points in the half, keeping the damage to a minimum with a halftime score of 49-34.

LEXINGTON — Fans that like up and down, fast-paced action would have enjoyed Wednesday’s Tarheel Conference throwdown between Davidson County Community College the Sandhills Community College Flyers Monday evening at Brinkley Gym.

At game’s end, though, it was DCCC playing at a totally different level, lighting up the scoreboard for 63 points in the second half to ground the Flyers, 107-75.

It was the type of effort Storm head coach Matt Ridge knows his team is capable of producing.

“If we would just share the ball for 40 minutes instead of just eight, it would make my life easier,” Ridge said. “I am proud of our defense and how we played with tremendous energy. We did a great job of beating them to spots.”

The Storm gave relentless effort in building a 10-point halftime lead, but the Flyers would be equally as aggressive in the second half.

Making it look easy, Sandhills clipped off seven straight points in a flash, getting them within three points.

Kimani Hunt sparked the Storm when he entered the game, drilling a 3-pointer and scoring a scoop-shot. When Rico Geter tossed in a 3 of his own, the Storm went up 67-57 and began to show the same effort they had given in the first 20 minutes.

Sandhills would keep close, getting the score down to seven or eight points, but Davidson continually had the answer, pushing it back to 10 each time.

The Flyers seemed to finally have a breakthrough as De’Andre Gandy stopped and popped a 3-pointer with 8:53 left to play that helped Sandhills inch back down to six.

That is when Zack Williams made his presence felt underneath. The big man out of Trinity asserted himself in the lane scoring three baskets, and the Storm began to blow out of control.

Sandhills scored just once in the midst of a 16-2 DCCC run over the course of three minutes. Geter knocked down his sixth 3 of the night from the corner to make it 90-70, as the Flyers finally got something to fall on the next trip down, but the damage had brutally been done on the scoreboard and to Sandhills’ spirits.

Robbie Rives put the finishing touches on a spectacular final eight minutes for the Storm, sending home a 3 from the corner to put Davidson over the century mark. Not to be outdone, Justin Glover sent home an emphatic windmill dunk in the closing seconds that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

Geter led the Storm (15-4, 5-0) scoring 27 points, finishing the night 6 of 7 from 3.

“That is amazing,” said Ridge. “The other guys did a good job getting him the ball when he was open.”

Five other players reached double figures with Philip Williams adding 19, Glover 13, Zack Williams 12, and Rives and Hunt with 11 each.

Hilary McLaurin had 22 for the Flyers.

DCCC continues its homestand Saturday when it hosts Central Carolina Community College at 3 p.m.