WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina

Carolina beats Va. Tech in thriller, 79-76

By Guy Curtright

Mar 13, 2009

Atlanta — Although Ty Lawson was obviously missed, North Carolina proved it could win without the ACC player of year.

Of course, the Tar Heels still had Tyler Hansbrough – a former winner of the award.

With Hansbrough making all the big plays down the stretch, No. 1-ranked North Carolina survived against Virginia Tech on Friday and advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament with a 79-76 escape.

The Tar Heels, virtually assured of a No. 1 in the NCAA Tournament, need to more victories at the Georgia Dome to wrap up a third consecutive ACC title. They will probably have to do it without Lawson, their lighting-quick point guard.

“I think it’s unlikely that he would play,” UNC coach Roy Williams said.

Lawson was in uniform against Virginia Tech, but was wearing a boot on his right foot to protect his injured big toe. Without him, the Tar Heels had just five fastbreak points.

“It was an ugly game,” Williams said. “But I’ve said many times that you have to win some games ugly to have a great year.”

UNC (28-3) won thanks to Hansbrough, overcoming a nine-point first-half deficit by pounding the ball inside.

Hansbrough – a four-time All-ACC choice – scored 28 points and also made the defensive play of the game by tying up Virginia Tech’s J.T. Thompson with 5.2 seconds remaining.

Hansbrough, who had put UNC ahead with a basket at 44 seconds, made two throws with 4.6 seconds remaining. A.D. Vassallo’s 3-point attempt bounced off the rim as time expired, ending the Hokies’ NCAA hopes.

“Our theme for the last 24 hours had been, ‘Same story, different ending,” VirginiaTech coach Seth Greenberg said. “Unfortunately, we got the same story and the same ending.”

UNC edged the Hokies in the ACC semifinals last year, sending Tech to the NIT. Hansbrough scored the winning basket in the final second.

“He’s a fierce competitor,” Greenberg said. “He’s got a great competitive spirit.”

Bobby Frasor has played four years with Hansbrough. He was the starting point guard as a freshman. Now he is back in the starting lineup as a fill-in for Lawson.

Frasor scored just four points against Virginia Tech, but had three assists to one turnover and grabbed four rebounds. He was steady, if nothing else. Sometimes that is all you need.

“No one can replace Ty,” Frasor said. “But I’ve started before, so I was used to that. I just tried to do what I could and play my game. I’m not explosive like Ty, so we’re obviously not as quick up and down the court.

“I know how much he would like to play here, but we have to keep the big picture in mind and that’s the NCAA.”

Williams praised Frasor’s steadiness.

“It’s hard to duplicate what Lawson does out there, no question," he said. "But Bobby gives us some different things and I thought he played to his strengths, which is important.”

At crunch time, Hansbrough is the Tar Heels’ strength. His 28 points was a career high for the ACC Tournament, bettering his 26 against the Hokies last year. He also had eight rebounds and the big defensive play.

“I saw [Thompson] coming down the lane,” Hansbrough said. “It looked like he just stopped and I went over to get the ball. Plain and simple.”

UNC could afford to risk fouling down the stretch because the Hokies weren’t close to the bonus.

Asked about the foul disparity in the second half and Hansbrough’s decisive defensive play, Greenberg said: “What I saw doesn’t count. . . . I guess we foul and they don’t.”

Vassallo had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Virginia Tech (18-14), but it wasn’t enough. Wayne Ellington had 16 points for the Tar Heels, while Deon Thompson scored 12 and Ed Davis added 10 off the bench.

“It’s not like they’re devoid of players,” Greenberg said when asked about the absence of Lawson. “They have a lot of players. Bobby Frasor was a McDonald’s All-American [in high school]. They took out an ACC player of the year and put a McDonald’s All-American in. It’s pretty good to have that luxury.”