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UNC Bench, Thompson Sparks Rout of BC, 91-69

By Sam Rosenthal

Feb 1, 2008

Chapel Hill, N.C. — No. 4 North Carolina led Boston College, 36-31, with 3:12 remaining in the first half.

Ty Lawson stepped to the foul line after a TV time out and hit both foul shots. On defense, Tyler Hansbrough drew a charge, which UNC failed to capitalize from.

But Deon Thompson stole the ball on B.C.’s next possession, culminating in a Hansbrough slam in transition. A Marcus Ginyard three-pointer came next, followed by a Wayne Ellington lay-up from between two defenders. Then, Hansbrough hit two free throws with 4.2 seconds left on the clock, and the Tar Heels entered half time with a 47-31 lead thanks to an 11-0 run.

After half time, it was more of the same: Boston College air-balling and missing shots on its first few possessions, coinciding with a Lawson lay-up, a Thompson dunk, two Hansbrough foul shots, two Lawson foul shots and another Lawson lay-up from UNC.

In a span of about seven minutes, from the end of the first half to the beginning of the second, North Carolina used a 21-0 run to open up a 56-31 lead on the Eagles.

And that, as they say, was the ball game. Or, as Tar Heel coach Roy Williams said:

“About the 9-minute mark to the end of the first half, I thought defensively was the most active we’ve been this year. We got some turnovers, got some deflections. All of a sudden, we’re running out on the break, and it goes from a 4, 5, 6 point game to 16 at half, and I thought that was the biggest part of the game really.”

Fresh off an eight-day break, UNC played its best defense in games – possibly all season – and romped over B.C., 91-69.

But the night was not devoid of drama or excitement.

After bursting out to a 14-4 lead, North Carolina let Boston College knot the score at 21. With just under 11 minutes to go in the first half, Williams sent three players to the scorer’s table – Mike Copeland, Quentin Thomas and Will Graves – who averaged a combined 17.3 minutes a game prior to this contest.

Suffice it to say that Williams wanted to send a message to his players.

“I was ready to choke somebody,” Williams said. “We didn’t hustle, we didn’t get after loose balls, we didn’t scramble back. I don’t care who you are, how long you played, how good-looking you are, or whatever, your butt’s gonna come out.”

After John Oates hit a bank-shot three to put the Eagles up 26-25 – their only lead of the evening – the lineup of Thompson, Ellington, Copeland, Thomas and Graves went to work, especially Thompson. The big man knocked down a jumper to re-gain the lead, then stole the ball, hit Thomas with an outlet pass, ran the court and was rewarded with a return dish for a dunk that took UNC to a TV timeout and a 29-26 lead.

The Smith Center crowd gave the not-so-starters a standing ovation.

However, Thompson’s night was just beginning. He finished with a career-high 17 points and tied career highs with four assists and three steals, adding six rebounds and a block.

“I put in so much work, and it’s just not showing on the court right now," Thompson said after the game. "So I think as the season continues to roll along, it’ll start to come out.”

Maybe he didn’t think so, but tonight, to his coach and teammates, it came out. Williams called him “Magic Johnson” only half jokingly.

And Ginyard said of Thompson: “Deon was everywhere tonight … and that’s where we need Deon. And, hopefully, he can understand that he has such a great impact on this team when he plays like that, and so we just have to hope that this game gives him a lot of confidence.”

In addition, Alex Stepheson contributed six points and 11 rebounds in 16 minutes of play. Ginyard said that getting that type of play from guys like Thompson and Stepheson is "absolutely” the missing piece to Carolina’s puzzle.

In what one reporter deemed a “quiet night” by usual standards, Hansbrough led the Tar Heels with 18 points, grabbed six rebounds and threw down a couple monster dunks. He entered the game as the top scorer in the ACC – 22 points per game – and facing the number two scorer – the Eagles’ Tyrese Rice (20 points per game). Rice outscored Hansbrough and finished with 20 on 6-of-15 shooting, but lacked the Tar Heels’ supporting cast.

All five starters – Hansbrough, Ginyard, Ellington, Thompson and Lawson – scored in double figures for UNC. Lawson had 16 points, 10 assists, three steals and went eight-of-nine from the foul line – with zero turnovers (in his last two games, he had 20 assists and one turnover).

“It’s just everybody coming in and doing their job," Ginyard said. "And if everybody comes in and does their job like they did tonight, this team can be, honestly, is the best team out there.”

Tonight, Ginyard said he thought his team played about 85 percent on defense over the course of the game, excepting the one spurt when the Eagles made it close.

Which begs the question: When will we see the Tar Heels at 100 percent, and what will that look like?