CHAPEL HILL -- At some point, forward John Henson knew coach Roy Williams was going to start yelling.
The warning signs were there in the second half Saturday afternoon against Boston College. The lack of discipline the third-ranked Tar Heels showed on defense. A 20-point lead the Eagles had trimmed to nine. And a home crowd at the Dean Smith Center that grew restless.
Yet with eight minutes left, the Tar Heels produced their best stretch of play. UNC went on a 10-2 run in less than four minutes to secure a comfortable 83-60 victory.
And the spark didn't come after a timeout from Williams.
"One thing we do as a team a lot better than most is getting each other fired up and not having to have Coach yell at us," Henson said. "We know what we did wrong."
It might have taken the Tar Heels a while - or longer than Williams or UNC fans wanted - but Henson said he and other teammates made personal adjustments to play the second half with more intensity, an attitude Williams has requested at times.
UNC increased its lead by scoring in the paint. Henson had 10 of his 14 points in the second half. He was also active on both ends of the court with three blocks and three assists.
Forward Tyler Zeller (20 points and eight rebounds) also performed better in the second half by not turning the ball over and scoring six points during UNC's run.
"We do a great job of looking for each other," Henson said of Zeller. "I know that if I can just get the ball to him around the basket it's going to be a bucket. We had a few plays where we helped each other."
Even though the Tar Heels started the ACC season with a win, Williams was concerned with his team's inability to run away from the Eagles in the first 30 minutes. During timeouts, Williams was animated.
"I told them it was very reasonable that I was upset," Williams said. "I'm pretty hard to please, but I know we've got to get a lot better."
Many Tar Heels had the same answer for why they struggled at times in the second half: They just relaxed.
"We may have lost a little focus," guard Kendall Marshall said, "But at the same time, you have to respect how Boston College played."
The good news was that UNC didn't fall asleep completely.
Forward Harrison Barnes said it's better to learn lessons in wins rather than losses. Plus, Barnes knows the Tar Heels are getting better at indentifying when things start to go bad.
"We showed good concentration," said Barnes, who had a game-high 25 points. "I think we are much better than last year at doing that."
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