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Game Blog: Tar Heels ride huge 2nd half to 108-70 win over Charleston

Jan 7, 2009

10:53 p.m. - Carolina cruised in the 2nd half.  They built the lead quickly and never looked back.  Now it's off to Winston Salem for a match up of two Top Five ACC teams.  I'm off to the locker room to talk to the coaches and players.

Final Score - UNC over C of C 108-70

 

10:46 p.m. - The previous post explains the streak, it is now broken.  Carolina hit the century mark in appropriate fashion as Larry Drew completed the fast break with an easy lay up.  Charleston will not make it to 952 games without allowing 100 points.

3:35 to play - UNC leads C of C 100-60

 

10:34 p.m. - Carolina has now built the lead to 36 points with under eight minutes to play.  The UNC media has just let us know that Charleston has the second longest streak in the NCAA of not surrendering a 100 point game.  It appears that streak will be broken tonight as the Tar Heels are at 92 points.  The last time a Cougars team allowed 100 points was in December of 1977, more than 31 years ago.  Charleston has played 951 games without giving up 100 points.  Wow. 

There is no question that defense was a priority of Roy Williams' halftime talk with his team.  The Cougars have mustered only 15 so far in the 2nd half.

7:37 to play - UNC leads C of C 92-56

 

10:21 p.m. - As the "Blues Brothers" do their routine in the second media time out of the 2nd half the Tar Heels are nearing a 30 point lead.  Tyler Hansbrough appears to be cooling down after a brief episode of frustration with Cougars freshman forward Matt Sundberg.  Hansbrough was going up for an easy basket in the paint when Sundberg grabbed him with both hands.  A staring contest ensued, and give credit to Sundberg.  He did not back down from the taller, stronger Hansbrough.  Sundberg was called for an intentional foul.

11:52 to play - UNC leads C of C 76-51

 

10:12 p.m. - The second half began with a bang.  Wayne Ellington nailed a three.  Ty Lawson stroked it from 18 feet for two.  Then Lawson lofted a seemingly effortless alley-oop to Danny Green.  Moments later Tyler Hansbrough threw down a two-hand jam.  Carolina has opened the 2nd half with a 13-5 run.  At one point, going back to the 1st half, UNC went on a 19-2 run.  The offense is opening up, and now the Heels have all five starters in double figures less than 25 minutes into the game.

Side note - Senator John Edwards is in attendance.  Perhaps you didn't know, I didn't, he LOVES popcorn.  My colleagues on press row have confirmed he is at least on his second bucket.  He doesn't appear to be slowing down either.

15:45 to play - UNC leads C of C 66-46

 

9:58 p.m. - Ty Lawson took the Tar Heels to the locker room in style as he took the inbounds pass from half court to the rack for a slashing lay up a the buzzer.  I know I'm not breaking any news here, but his speed is just unreal.  As soon as he got the ball there was no doubt in my mind he'd take it to the hoop.

That was a lightning fast first half.  Tip off was at nine o'clock, the half was over by quarter 'til ten.  The game has been played in full-court fashion by both teams.  Neither UNC nor C of C has really played much of any half court offense.

The Cougars are 8 of 18 behind the arc at the break, and are shooting 46.9% total.  That is something that Roy Williams is likely telling his players in the locker room.  Despite the poor defensive shooting percentage, roy must be happy with the Heels offensive numbers.  UNC is shooting 59.5% from the field, 3 of 5 from three point range.  Ty Lawson is having a good night for the Tar Heels, with 9 points and 4 assists.  Carolina has assists on 13 of their 22 made shots in the first half.  Both teams have two players in double figures.  For UNC, Hansbrough has 12 points while Thompson has 10.  For C of C, Tony White Jr. has 12 points, while Antwaine Wiggins has 10.

Halftime score - UNC leads C of C 53-41

 

9:40 p.m. - 8 of 15...  That's the Cougars unofficial three point shooting tonight.  That's enough to keep any team in a game through 16 minutes of play.  Better than 50% for the night, including 4 of 5 from Tony White Jr.  Carolina is getting good production from their post players.  Tyler Hansbrough has 12 points, Deon Thompson 10 points.

3:14 to play in the first half - UNC leads C of C 45-39

 

9:31 p.m. - A fast break dunk by Tyler Hansbrough has given the Tar Heels their first double-digit lead of the night.  A few Cougars turnovers are helping Carolina to get out into transition, something they love to do.  However, I won't be surprised if C of C continues to keep this relatively close.  Antwaine Wiggins is shown he can score inside, as well as hit the three.  Jermaine Johnson, a 6-7 senior for the Cougars has posted up Ed Davis impressively once or twice already.  He looks to be the biggest interior threat.

7:47 to play in the first half - UNC leads C of C 38-28

 

9:22 p.m. - This continues to be a close game with two teams that like to push the ball.  The not quite capacity crowd got it's loudest after Deon Thompson finished a thunderous alley-oop served up by Larry Drew.  Thompson has added a couple for dunks and has ten points already.  Bobby Frasor is showing his defensive effort tonight after an end-to-end steal and lay up. 

Charleston is living by the three-pointer, and keeping the game close.  It seems each time the Tar Heels build a lead of six or seven the Cougars drain a deep shot.  Perhaps Carolina needs to focus on perimeter defense a bit more tonight.

10:24 to play in the first half - UNC leads C of C 24-21

 

9:10 p.m. - At the first media time out it's apparent that the Cougars are not going to attempt to slow the game down.  C of C is shooting less than 15 seconds into the shot clock on nearly every possession.  The Cougars actually held the lead after three minutes, 10-9.  A Wayne Ellington three-pointer changed that, then a Ty Lawson floating jumper from just outside the lane gave the Tar Heels a four point lead at the first break.

15:41 to play in the first half - UNC leads C of C 14-10

 

8:55 p.m. - It's under five minutes from tip off and a pretty good crowd at the Dean Dome.  Bobby Cremmins will coach a team against North Carolina for the first time in nine years tonight.  I'm curious to see if the Carolina crowd gives him a warm welcome.  It seems like everyone generally likes Cremmins.