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Heels roll to easy victory
North Carolina picks up 116-48 win over UNC Asheville
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Published: December 1, 2008
CHAPEL HILL
Two important big men were missing from a game at the Smith Center last night, but for one team an absence inside didn't matter.
North Carolina returned home from a holiday break in Hawaii to thump UNC Asheville 116-48 with its All-America center, Tyler Hansbrough, back on the bench resting his right shin, which is recovering from a stress reaction.
Hansbrough dressed in his uniform, but did not participate in warmup drills. He sat on the end of the bench. He wasn't needed because UNC roared to a 53-19 halftime lead behind defense and rebounding.
UNCA was missing Kenny George, its 7-7, 370-pound center whose basketball future is in doubt after part of one of his feet was amputated in the summer. With George unable to defend the area around the basket, UNC scored repeatedly after overcoming a shaky first four minutes.
UNC improved to 7-0 before playing Michigan State in Detroit on Wednesday in the ACC-Big 10 Challenge series. Coach Roy Williams of UNC said last night that he will not know until later in the week if Hansbrough will be able to play then.
Hansbrough did not play last night because of stiffness in his right leg and ankle caused by UNC's flight home from Hawaii.
"It was a hard plane ride back," Williams said. "The seats are so small. We were sitting in those seats for a long, long time. We came back on Friday (to practice) and he could barely touch the rims because he was so stiff.
"(Saturday) at practice he was real stiff. Then he practiced and it really got very loose for him. He felt good at practice but it was stiff at the end of the day. We decided we'd hold off and not go there."
UNCA fell to 3-3 and has lost all six of its games to UNC. The 68-point margin tied UNC's largest margin of victory in the Smith Center, set on Feb. 18, 1991, in a 118-50 win against The Citadel.
The margin tied the third-largest margin of victory in school history. UNC's points were the most it has scored under Williams, surpassing the 114 points scored in three overtimes in a five-point loss to Wake Forest on Dec. 20, 2003, in Williams' first season.
Ty Lawson scored 22 points, handed out eight assists and made five steals to lead UNC. The other four UNC starters scored at least 13 points each. Danny Green made six 3-point shots in the second half in scoring all 18 of his points.
UNCA was led by three players with eight points each.
Will Graves gave UNC a spark off the bench early in the first half with two quick baskets and helped it overcome UNCA's 7-4 lead. Lawson put UNC ahead for good at 8-7 on a fastbreak layup and was fouled. He made the free throw and the lead grew easily the rest of the half.
UNC generated a 49-12 scoring run in the last 16:25 of the first half. Lawson kept leading breaks that were fueled by 31 rebounds in the first half and 12 UNCA turnovers. With almost every shot contested, especially at the basket, UNCA shot 24.2 percent from the field in the half. It shot 26.5 percent for the game.
The lead was 17-12 when UNC scored at least one point on 11 of its next 14 possessions to go up 39-19 with 4:51 left in the half. Lawson began the run by hitting a layup, drawing another foul and making the free throw.
Five minutes later Larry Drew, a freshman point guard, drove to the lane on the right baseline and saw Bobby Frasor open outside. Drew whipped him a pass and Frasor hit a 3-pointer to build the lead to 35-14.
Deon Thompson then scored consecutive baskets. He rebounded Lawson's missed 3-pointer to score on a follow shot for a 37-16 advantage. After a UNCA three-point play, Thompson made another layup after catching a pass inside from Ed Davis.
After UNC made a turnover, one of seven in the first half, it closed the final 3:45 before halftime by scoring on seven of nine possessions.
Graves said that Williams got the players ready for the game with Friday's practice after returning home. He also said that UNC wasn't going to relax no matter what the difference in the score was.
"We always get the best shot from everyone," Graves said. "You never know what's going to happen. We could start missing every shot or they could start making every shot.
"We just have to buckle down and keep focus within ourselves. We know what we want as a goal this year. We just go out there and give it our all, no matter what the score. We try to not look at the score. We just keep buckling down."
UNC suffered no letdown after the halftime break. Davis blocked UNCA's first shot of the second half. Danny Green drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing for a 56-19 lead and any remaining suspense quickly disappeared.
■ Bill Cole can be reached at bcole@wsjournal.com.
UNC ASHEVILLE -- Williams 3-10 0-1 6, Augst 3-12 2-5 8, Ridenhour 3-11 1-2 8, Smith 1-7 4-7 6, Primm 2-9 2-2 6, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0, Stephenson 2-9 0-0 4, Dickey 3-7 0-0 8, Stubbs 1-3 0-0 2, Hobbs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-68 9-17 48.
NORTH CAROLINA -- Green 6-9 0-0 18, Davis 6-9 1-3 13, Thompson 7-12 3-4 17, Ellington 5-11 2-2 13, Lawson 7-10 6-7 22, Frasor 1-2 0-0 3, Graves 4-6 0-0 9, Drew II 2-6 0-0 4, Watts 2-8 0-2 4, Moody 1-1 1-1 3, Tanner 2-2 1-2 7, Campbell 0-0 0-0 0, Wooten 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 44-77 14-21 116.
Halftime--North Carolina 53-19. 3-Point Goals--N.C.-Asheville 3-18 (Dickey 2-5, Ridenhour 1-4, Primm 0-1, Smith 0-2, Stephenson 0-3, Augst 0-3), North Carolina 14-27 (Green 6-8, Tanner 2-2, Lawson 2-4, Graves 1-1, Wooten 1-1, Frasor 1-2, Ellington 1-6, Watts 0-1, Drew II 0-2). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--N.C.-Asheville 39 (Williams 9), North Carolina 52 (Davis 10). Assists--N.C.-Asheville 8 (Primm 3), North Carolina 30 (Lawson 8). Total Fouls--N.C.-Asheville 16, North Carolina 12. A--18,054. A--18,054.
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