There wasn't a bonfire on campus. There wasn't even much of a celebration following Duke's third victory this season over the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
But Hillsborough resident Marty Warren Evans had been a part of the UNC-Duke rivalry for far too long to let this occasion go undocumented. Evans was ready to paint.
At around 11 p.m. Sunday night, eight hours after the Blue Devils summarily dismissed the Tar Heels, 96-73, in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament championship game, the 33 year-old Evans was in the midst of his masterpiece.
Just in front of the Morehead Planetarium, he used East Franklin Street as a canvas to paint "Duke ACC Champions 19-0."
But he was disturbed by a Chapel Hill police officer responding to a call. Unamused by the prank, the officer arrested Evans and a friend, Danny Carl Pitts, who was standing guard.
There was additional graffiti along Franklin Street, but police are still not sure whether Evans and Pitts are responsible for the other messages. Jan Cousins, spokesperson for the Chapel Hill Police Department, said she doesn't expect any additional charges.
Evans, of 4715 Schley Rd. in Hillsborough, and Pitts, 36, of 2725 Geer St. in Durham, were charged with damage to real property and painting public property without authorization.
"I did it because the rest of my family are Carolina fans," Evans explained. "This rivalry, it's not just among the schools, it's in the community just as much." He added that he also did it to "drive a dagger into the heart" of Duke's arch-nemesis.
Evans maintains that Franklin Street is often painted, usually in celebration of Carolina victories. He thinks the police decided to press charges because he was a "big, big Duke fan." But Cousins countered that the streets are not frequently painted, and said the arrests are part of a concerted effort to clean up Chapel Hill.
Evans insists his actions were harmless. "All I did was spray-paint a street," he said. "I didn't spray it with swear words, I just sprayed it with the truth."
Although Evans doesn't think he deserved to be arrested for a simple prank, he is worried about what might happen at his March 12 court date.
"What if I get a lawyer who graduated from law school at Carolina? What if the judge went to UNC? They might not take too kindly," he said. "If there are any student-lawyers out there who would like to put in some time to help me out, I'd really appreciate it."
Still, Evans said, he wants his graffiti to send a message to the Blue Devils team he has followed since the days of Mike Gminski in the late 1970s.
"[This year's team] really made an unbelievable season come true.... All that talent standing together and playing as one, it really is a tribute to basketball," he said. "Just make sure the team knows I did it for them."
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