Blacksburg, Va ? First Duke, now North Carolina.

Virginia Tech beat them both in eight days, riding the play of senior guards Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon and an unheralded cast of role players.

Dowdell scored 23 points and had four steals, Gordon added 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and five steals and the ball-hawking Hokies likely ended North Carolina’s stay at No. 1 after only a week with a stunning 94-88 victory Saturday.

It ended with some tension – the Tar Heels cut a 22-point deficit to 91-88 with 16.9 seconds left – but then Dowdell made one free throw, Gordon made two more, and the final seconds ticked off, bringing hundreds of frenzied fans rushing onto the court.

“They scared us at the end,” Gordon said. “They were hitting shots like the Phoenix Suns. They’re No. 1 for a reason, but tonight, it was our night.”

The Hokies (13-4, 3-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) joined Boston College (12-4, 4-0), which won earlier, as the only teams still unbeaten in ACC play.

And they did it not only because of their guard play, but also because of Coleman Collins, who had 12 points and frustrated Tyler Hansbrough inside; because of A.D. Vassallo, who scored 17 off the bench; and because of Nigel Munson, who scored 10.

There were also key moments for Deron Washington, Cheick Diakite and Lewis Witcher, who all got in foul trouble but combined for 12 points and helped the Hokies slow down the Tar Heels inside game, and former walk-on Chris Tucker, who hit a 3-pointer.

VIRGINIA TECH FORWARD COLEMAN COLLINS celebrates with fans following his team's victory against North Carolina. The Hokies knocked off the top-ranked Tar Heels, 94-88, on Saturday in Blacksburg, Va.

“That’s kind of the pleasure of coaching,” Hokies coach Seth Greenberg said of seeing guys who work hard and don’t always get to play get in and make contributions.

“It was great,” Vassallo said, “guys coming in and giving us a big lift.”

Turned out, they needed it all as the Tar Heels went from trailing by 20 with six minutes left to getting within three and silencing the crowd with 16.9 seconds to go.

But then Dowdell hit one of two free throws, Gordon got fouled at the other end and hit two more and the Hokies had their second-ever victory against a team ranked No. 1.

“They’ve had two pretty big wins the last two Saturdays, to say the least,” Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. “It’s a different ballgame now in this league.”