Heels rebound: Thompson scores 22 as UNC wins big

North Carolina took different looks at its playing rotation last night against Gardner-Webb in planning for the future and along the way won 93-72 at the Smith Center.

Getting strong play inside, and withstanding a hot performance from Grayson Flittner, UNC grabbed control in the first half and withstood Gardner-Webb's runs at the lead. UNC carried an 83-65 advantage into the final 5:40, after leading 53-38 at halftime.

Coach Roy Williams wasn't pleased with 16 turnovers and 15 missed free throws, and thought his team was tight through the early stages of the first half. He expected some tension in UNC's first game since its first loss to Syracuse last Friday.

Forward Deon Thompson said he saw progress.

"I give us overall probably a C-plus for the way we played," Thompson said. "We're not too into it mentally with being excited about playing right now. We don't know why, but hopefully it will get better."

Thompson led UNC with 22 points, and topped 1,000 points for his career. He is the 63rd UNC player to hit the mark, the most in major-college history. He added 10 rebounds.

Ed Davis added 15 points and 13 rebounds for UNC, which improved to 5-1. Tyler Zeller came off the bench to score 16 points and receive two stitches for a cut above his right eye suffered in the second half when fighting for a rebound.

Flittner scored 32 points. He made nine 3-point shots, which tied the Smith Center record for an opponent. He was averaging 7.7 points a game, but his scoring had dipped this season because he had been playing point guard instead of his normal shooting guard position.

Williams made no changes in UNC's starting lineup, but did alter other areas. Almost all the changes were in the backcourt, which struggled through the first four games with turnovers and limited 3-point shooting.

Guards Larry Drew and Dexter Strickland played together for the first time this season. Marcus Ginyard, a senior swingman, also played at point guard briefly in his 31 minutes.

"I did tell the guys in the huddle one time we're getting close to that point that I'm not going to play everybody just because I like their smile," Williams said. "You've got to produce when you get out there."

Williams said that UNC's previous practice was its 24th of the season going into the sixth game. He said that last season's team, which was loaded with veterans, had 24 practices before playing its first game.

Drew and Strickland formed the backcourt in the first half after UNC had forged a 17-9 lead in the first seven minutes. Strickland had been backing Drew at the point, where depth is minimal, but was used more at shooting guard, the position he played for most of his high-school career.

The results were small for one night. Strickland made two of five shots and missed his only 3-point attempt. Drew made three of five shots and committed three turnovers. Together they had eight of UNC's 21 assists, however, with Drew handing out five.

Strickland liked the change, but said he understands that he will have to play point guard also for the rest of the season because UNC needs help at the position.

"It felt good," he said. "It gave me memories of high school. I think it gave me a little more freedom to attack the boards and get extra shots. It felt good to run the floor."

bcole@wsjournal.com.

GARDNER-WEBB

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Henley 29 3-9 0-2 3-10 2 4 6

MacMillan 25 1-6 0-0 4-6 0 4 2

Flittner 37 10-19 3-3 1-5 6 2 32

Hailey 24 1-6 0-0 1-1 1 3 2

McNair 28 4-8 0-0 1-1 4 1 9

Johnson 9 1-1 0-0 0-1 0 1 2

Brown 10 1-5 0-0 0-0 1 0 2

Moore 3 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Engelken 17 2-5 0-0 0-2 1 4 6

Staton 12 1-4 2-2 0-0 3 2 5

Silver 6 2-4 0-0 0-2 1 2 6

Totals 200 26-69 5-7 11-32 19 23 72

Percentages: FG .377, FT .714. 3-Point Goals: 15-36, .417 (Flittner 9-16, Silver 2-3, Engelken 2-4, Staton 1-2, McNair 1-5, Hailey 0-1, Moore 0-1, Brown 0-4). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 2 (Johnson, MacMillan). Turnovers: 22 (McNair 5, Hailey 4, Flittner 3, Henley 3, Engelken 2, MacMillan 2, Staton, Brown, Moore). Steals: 8 (Flittner 4, McNair, Johnson, MacMillan, Hailey).

NORTH CAROLINA

Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS

Graves 13 2-5 0-0 1-2 1 1 4

Thompson 23 9-11 4-4 3-10 1 1 22

Davis 29 6-12 3-8 5- 0 1 15

Ginyard 31 4-9 0-0 1-5 6 1 8

Drew II 24 3-5 0-1 0-4 5 1 6

Zeller 15 6-8 4-6 3-5 0 1 16

Henson 13 1-2 1-2 0-3 2 0 3

Strickland 16 2-5 0-0 1-1 3 1 4

Watts 5 1-1 0-0 1-1 1 1 2

DWear 12 1-3 0-2 0-2 0 0 2

TWear 11 1-4 5-6 2-3 0 0 7

McDonald 4 0-0 1-2 0-0 1 0 1

Campbell 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Petree 1 0-0 0-2 0-1 1 0 0

Thornton 1 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 3

Gallagher 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Percentages: FG .561, FT .545. 3-Point Goals: 1-4, .250 (Thornton 1-1, Strickland 0-1, Ginyard 0-1, Graves 0-1). Team Rebounds: 0. Blocked Shots: 3 (Davis 2, Henson). Turnovers: 16 (Drew II 3, Graves 2, Thompson 2, Ginyard 2, Davis 2, D.Wear 2, Strickland, Campbell, T.Wear). Steals: 11 (Ginyard 3, Thompson 2, Drew II, Zeller, T.Wear, Gallagher, Graves, Davis).

Gardner-Webb 38 34--72


North Carolina 53 40--93

A--17,005.