Hansbrough powers Heels to victory

Led by Tyler Hansbrough's 21 points and 14 rebounds, including seven points in a key spurt, No. 7 UNC rallies to beat No. 3 Ohio State

CHAPEL HILL -- All alone after a steal Wednesday night, preparing to "get up in the air," in the second half, North Carolina shooting guard Wayne Ellington had his left foot slip out from under him, making the Smith Center crowd settle for a layup instead of a tomahawk.

"Yeah, I'll probably hear about that from a lot of people ... including those guys,'' said a smiling Ellington, referring to the freshmen on the opposing team.

But the way he figures it, at least he has a good retort: No. 7 UNC 98, No. 3 Ohio State 89.

In an ACC-Big Ten Challenge game billed as a showdown of the top two rookie classes in the nation, UNC's freshmen did not disappoint.

Not only did Ellington add 19 points (on his 19th birthday) to his best defensive game of the season, his top-ranked freshman teammates combined to chip in 32 points.

Plus, sophomore point guard Bobby Frasor came off the bench to add a spark, senior Reyshawn Terry had the putback to give the Tar Heels their first lead, and sophomore forward Tyler Hansbrough led them all with 21 points and 14 rebounds.

"I think this was the game that we've played best together,'' Ellington said. "It worked well for everybody; everybody was making big plays down the stretch."

Indeed, the Tar Heels were trailing 68-63 with about 11 minutes left when Hansbrough scored on an inside move. It was the first bucket during a 17-2 run that gave Carolina a game-sealing 80-70 lead, and more than made up for his 3-for-11 first half. Hansbrough had seven points during the run; Ellington added five.

"It was a heck of a basketball game,'' said UNC coach Roy Williams, whose team shot a sizzling 65.5 percent in the second half. "Even as a coach, you sit over there and marvel at the level that the kids are playing at offensively."

With Frasor hampered this week by a sore right foot, freshman Ty Lawson got his first start at point guard. He said he had goosebumps before the game, and with his speedy drives, 13 points and zero turnovers, he gave them to the sellout crowd, as well.

Frasor, who had started all previous 36 games of his career, checked in with 14:36 left in the first half. UNC trailed 16-13 at that point, and by as many as 10 points before halftime, as the Buckeyes made 8 of their 13 3-pointers before the break.

Trailing 37-30 with 5:20 left in the first half, Frasor led a boisterous comeback when he bookended a Ron Lewis (30 points) 3-pointer with two 3s of his own.

Then, on OSU's next possession, Frasor was on the floor, scrambling for a steal -- and the ball eventually ended up in the hands of Hansbrough, who scored on a breakaway dunk to cut his team's deficit to 40-38.

It was as close as the Tar Heels got before the break, and they trailed 48-44 at halftime.

"First half we were stumbling around, and were lucky to only be down by four points,'' said UNC freshman Brandan Wright, who was in foul trouble early but finished with 11 points. "The second half we came out and turned up the intensity to a level we haven't seen this year."

Indeed, the refocused Tar Heels opened the second half with six straight points -- four from Hansbrough, then a putback from Terry, who looked to the sky with a shrug of "finally," as he got his first points of the game and Carolina took its first lead, 50-48.

"It was a game of runs, and I think our guys showed us some very good things things out there, as we're still experimenting with a young basketball team,'' said OSU coach Thad Matta, whose best freshman, Greg Oden, will be sidelined until January while rehabilitating his right wrist. "I think I've never been in a building that was as loud as that building was at times."

Just imagine the decibel level had Ellington not slipped on his breakaway dunk.

"I thought he was going to do something spectacular -- maybe a tomahawk,'' said Lawson. "But we were just all glad for the two points."

After all, it gave Carolina a comfy 82-72 lead -- and helped give the young Tar Heels bragging rights the next time they see their Buckeye counterparts.

"We'll probably talk to each other about it [when we see each other] at Nike camp and stuff,'' Lawson said. "But what we really wanted was the win; that was most important."

Carolina is now 3-5 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The ACC has won all eight challenges.