Heels hang on to beat Valparaiso

CHAPEL HILL -- Remember, not too long ago, when a 24-point second-half lead against a mid-major foe at the Smith Center meant an early exit for the fans, playing time for the walk-ons, and an easy win for North Carolina?

The sixth-ranked Tar Heels (3-0) managed to top Valparaiso 88-77 Sunday at the Smith Center, but if their performance continues to look effort-less instead of effortless, it could be a bumpier-than-expected season for what's left of the defending national champions.

"No disrespect to Valparaiso, but we're more talented than they are," said senior Marcus Ginyard, who was so angry and agitated by the performance that he answered some questions in uncharacteristic monosyllables. "And just for them to be in the game like they were, it should never happen. If anything, we just can't carry over this lackadaisical effort over to New York, or we'll have a nasty time up there."

He was referring to Thursday's game against 16th-ranked Ohio State and Friday's game against either Syracuse or No. 13 California, both at Madison Square Garden in the 2K Sports Classic. It already looked like a couple of tough tests for a team that lost four starters from last year's squad.

And that was before feisty Valpo (0-2) shot 53.1 percent in the second half, cut a 24-point lead to as little as nine, and had UNC coach Roy Williams frustrated about his team's lack of intensity.

"I said before the season started that some days we're going to be pretty good and some days we're going to be pretty ugly," Williams said. "And today was one of those days - I thought we were pretty ugly."

The freshman- and sophomore-packed Crusaders, picked to finished eighth in the Horizon League, never led. But with 8:27 left in the first half, Valpo junior guard Brandon McPherson (20 points) buried a wide-open 3-pointer to knot the score 22-22. It was a sign of things to come.

Carolina led 38-31 at halftime and seemed to break the game open early in the second half, when senior forward Deon Thompson - who sat out the last 4 minutes, 23 seconds of the first half after he was called for a technical foul for hitting a Valpo player near the back of the head while positioning for a rebound - scored 12 points in the first six minutes. He finished with a team-high 20.

But after the Tar Heels took a 67-43 lead with 11:55 left, any sense of urgency they might have mustered evaporated as Valpo's Brandon Wood (career-high 30 points) buried 3-pointer after 3-pointer. His sixth of the evening cut the score to 84-75.

Good thing only 1:52 remained in the game.

"I'd like to think this will give us a sense of reality - that maybe we're not as good as we think we are," said UNC forward Ed Davis, who finished with 16 points and 6 rebounds. "So we're going to have to buckle down ... try to get better, and really listen to what coach says."

And there will be a lot, with two ranked teams next on tap - and three more scheduled for next month.

"We've got to go back to the bare essentials," Williams said. "We have a two-on-one fast break twice tonight, and we don't score on either one of them - we didn't even get a shot off on either one of them. We have seniors turning the ball over - Deon and Marcus on three straight possessions and Larry [Drew II] on two straight possessions.

"It goes in the win column, but we have no chance in New York if we play this way."

No. 6 North Carolina 88, Valparaiso 77

Three-point goals: 12-27, .444 (Wood 6-10, McPherson 4-6, Broekhoff 1-1, Kurth 1-1, Milosevic 0-1, Buggs 0-1, Kenney 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Little 0-2, Rogers 0-3). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 2 (Witt, Wood). Turnovers: 9 (Johnson 3, Wood 2, Broekhoff, Little, Witt, McPherson). Steals: 10 (Kenney 2, Rogers 2, Wood 2, Broekhoff, Johnson, McPherson, Little).

Three-point goals: 6-15, .400 (Drew II 3-5, Graves 2-6, Ginyard 1-2, Strickland 0-1, Henson 0-1). Team rebounds: 5. Blocked shots: 4 (Zeller 2, Davis 2). Turnovers: 14 (Ginyard 5, Drew II 4, McDonald 2, T.Wear, Strickland, Thompson). Steals: 5 (Ginyard 2, Drew II, Henson, Graves). Technical Fouls: Thompson.

Att.-17,020. Officials-Karl Hess, Brent Hampton, Patrick Adams.