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Hansbrough returns for UNC in win over UCSB

Fri 21st, November 2008

Santa Barbara, CA (Sports Network) - Tyler Hansbrough made his season debut and scored 13 points and added seven rebounds as the top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels downed UC Santa Barbara, 84-67, at the Thunderdome.

Hansbrough, the reigning national player of the year, missed the first two games, wins against Penn and Kentucky, due to a stress reaction condition in his right shin.

Ty Lawson led all scorers with 19 points, Wayne Ellington had 17 points while Deon Thompson had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels (3-0), who shot 47.5 percent from the floor.

James Nunnally had 22 points and seven rebounds off the bench while Jesse Byrd added 12 points for the Gauchos (1-2), who have dropped their last two games.

Hansbrough made his presence felt early as he made five out of his first six free throws with the last two coming a little over three minutes in for a 7-2 lead.

Trailing by four points, the Gauchos went on a 13-2 run for a surprising 27-22 lead thanks to a Jaime Serna layup with under nine minutes to play in the first half.

However, Lawson responded with consecutive three-pointers to get the lead back and, after Hansbrough put in a layup, Ellington put in a pair of baskets for a 35-27 lead with five minutes to play.

The Tar Heels eventually took a 45-37 lead into the locker room as Hansbrough got the final two points of the half when he hit a pair of free throws.

UC Santa Barbara kept North Carolina honest in the second half as Nunnally made a three-pointer less than three minutes in to cut the deficit to 51-46.

Ellington closed out a 7-0 run a bit over five minutes into the second half to give North Carolina a 60-48 lead.

Jordan Weiner drained a three-pointer and Sam Phippen followed with a jumper to cut the Gauchos deficit to 60-53, but Ellington answered with a three- pointer and Thompson later put in a layup to reestablish the 12-point lead with a bit over eight minutes to play.

UC Santa Barbara later got four straight points to again make it a 10-point game after Serna hit a pair of free throws with under six minutes to play.

North Carolina, though, scored the next 11 points and cruised to the finish.

Game Notes

UNC next plays on Monday against Chaminade in the first round of the Maui Invitational...The Gauchos finished the game shooting 45.5 percent from the floor...The Tar Heels have won all three meetings against the Gauchos...Danny Green had 11 points for the Tar Heels.