Heels race by Irish

Tyler Hansbrough erupts for 34 points and Ty Lawson's speed overwhelms Notre Dame

With about 10 minutes left Wednesday night, North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson assisted big man Tyler Hansbrough on a racing, rousing breakaway dunk.

It was just like old times – and with a championship attached.

A healthy Hansbrough and invigorated Lawson combined to lead the top-ranked Tar Heels to a dominating 102-87 victory over No. 8 Notre Dame for the Maui Invitational title.

Considering the fact that UNC went on to the NCAA Final Four after the previous two times they won a first-place trophy at Lahaina Civic Center, the Tar Heels hope it’s only the first such celebration of the season.

“I think it’s just another step in a long journey,” said Hansbrough, who finished with 34 points, five rebounds and two blocks. “ … This builds confidence, but I also think we learned a lot. We got to see what it feels like to play against really good competition.”

Lawson added 22 points and a career-high 11 assists, and forward Deon Thompson’s double-double included a career-high 13 rebounds. But the competitive opponent was a particularly important test to Hansbrough, who was playing in only his third game of the season since sitting out more than three weeks with a stress reaction in his right shin.

Williams didn’t inquire about Hansbrough’s health and ability to play until pre-game warm-ups. And it soon was apparent why had been so cautious with Hansbrough’s playing time — because the All American was anything but cautious from the outset.

The lead swapped back and forth early, with Notre Dame big man Luke Harangody (13 points, eight rebounds, despite having flu-like symptoms all day) trying to establish himself in the lane and Hansbrough trying to establish himself everywhere.

Eager to return to the court and bump off some more rust, UNC’s big man had 10 points in the first 10 minutes.

Then with about 8:30 left in the first half and UNC holding a 28-25 lead, Lawson jumpstarted a 12-2 run that included five points from the speedy point guard, a baseline jumper from Hansbrough and a couple of steals and dunks from Thompson.

Carolina led by as many as 13 points before the break, when Hansbrough buried only the fourth three-pointer of his career to make it 46-33.

“When you’re missing games, it plays with your mind,’’ he said. “You want to be out there, but you know you have to take care of your body; you don’t want to rush it. But to come off and get a couple games under your belt and have a good game, I think it definitely made me feel a lot better about my play. I still feel a little bit out of shape, but that will come."

The Tar Heels didn’t quite manage to hold the Irish under 30 percent shooting in the first half, as it had done with their previous two tournament foes. But it was a close thing, as Notre Dame shot only 35.9 percent before halftime, when UNC led 46-36.

Notre Dame tried to rally in the closing minutes, with guard Kyle McAlarney (who scored 39 points on a school record 10 three-pointers) burying three after three. But the Irish couldn’t counter, or halt, Hansbrough’s power or Lawson’s speed.

"He's probably the fastest guard will go up against over the year, by far,'' McAlarney said. "We've got a lot of great guards in our league, a lot of great backcourts, but this was definitely among the top backcourts that we'll play all year.

Lawson was named MVP of the tournament, while Hansbrough and Danny Green (8 points, 6 rebounds) made the all-tournament team.

“It’s good to see him get back to his form from last year,’’ Lawson said of Hansbrough. “It makes our job a whole lot easier because he makes good shots and gets tough rebounds.”

NO. 1 NORTH CAROLINA 102, NOTRE DAME 87

North Carolina (6-0): Green 4-9 0-0 8, Thompson 8-12 3-3 19, Hansbrough 13-19 7-7 34, Lawson 7-10 7-7 22, Ellington 3-8 0-0 8, Campbell 1-1 0-0 2, Frasor 2-2 0-0 5, Drew II 0-3 1-2 1, Graves 0-1 0-0 0, Tanner 0-0 0-0 0, Watts 0-0 0-0 0, Wooten 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 1-5 1-2 3, Moody 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 39-70 19-21 102.

Notre Dame (4-1): Hillesland 2-6 1-2 5, Harangody 6-12 1-2 13, Jackson 4-7 1-2 10, McAlarney 12-26 5-5 39, Ayers 2-8 0-0 6, Nash 0-0 0-0 0, Peoples 3-9 0-0 7, Scott 0-1 0-0 0, Zeller 3-9 0-0 7. Totals 32-78 8-11 87.

Halftime--North Carolina 46-36. Three-point goals--North Carolina 5-13 (Ellington 2-4, Frasor 1-1, Hansbrough 1-2, Lawson 1-2, Drew II 0-1, Graves 0-1, Green 0-2), Notre Dame 15-36 (McAlarney 10-18, Ayers 2-7, Jackson 1-1, Peoples 1-3, Zeller 1-6, Scott 0-1). Fouled Out--Zeller. Rebounds--North Carolina 44 (Thompson 13), Notre Dame 36 (Harangody 7). Assists--North Carolina 19 (Lawson 11), Notre Dame 20 (McAlarney 6). Total Fouls--North Carolina 14, Notre Dame 18. A--2,500.