North Carolina’s basketball team didn’t show much mercy to UNC-Asheville, sending the Bulldogs hobbling back to Roy Williams’ hometown after a 116-48 shellacking on Sunday night in Chapel Hill.
Williams may have cultivated his love of Coca-Cola as a boy in Asheville, but the Bulldogs strictly were New Coke on this evening.
Even without superstar Tyler Hansbrough, who sat out for precautionary reasons while he continues to mend from shin and ankle injuries, the Tar Heels simply were too talented for their in-state counterparts. After perhaps two minutes of sloppy play, UNC began to force a frenetic pace and take away virtually anything the Bulldogs wanted to do on the offensive end.
Choosing any one player to highlight is difficult, but point guard Ty Lawson probably deserves the nod.
Playing with more aggression and confidence since injuring his ankle last February, Lawson again was sensational on both ends. He led all scorers with 22 points (7-10 field goals), eight assists, five steals and three rebounds. He was charged with only one turnover, continuing a string of games with a superlative assist-to-turnover ratio.
The guy who provided the Smith Center fans with their most enjoyment was Danny Green. The junior forward buried six consecutive three-pointers in the second half, including one from what must have been 30 feet.
Otherwise, it was a combined effort in which there was a lot of easy success. As a team, UNC shot 57 percent from the field and held the Bulldogs to 27 percent shooting. All five Carolina starters scored in double-digits, while no player for UNC-A was able to score more than eight points.
The win represented the largest scoring output and the widest scoring margin since Williams took over at UNC.
Here’s a look at the box score.
