StarBulletin.com

Hansbrough, Lawson lead Heels to Maui title


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POSTED: Thursday, November 27, 2008

LAHAINA » Tyler Hansbrough had 34 points against a top-10 team and his coach said he's about 75 percent. Top-ranked North Carolina won the EA Sports Maui Invitational by almost 30 points per game and its coach said the team can get a lot better.

Wow.

Hansbrough, playing in just his third game of the season because of leg injuries, led the Tar Heels to a 102-87 victory over No. 8 Notre Dame last night in the championship game to win this title for the third time.

“;He's about 75 percent, but he played better than that tonight. He was really fired up,”; North Carolina coach Roy Williams said of the reigning national player of the year. “;It's been tearing at him not to be able to play.”;

It showed.

Hansbrough was 13-for-19 from the field, hitting his shots down low, throwing down dunks and even making a 3-pointer. He grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots, including one by Notre Dame's Luke Harangody, like Hansbrough a preseason All-American.

“;One thing when you're missing games is that it plays a little bit in your mind because you want to be out there but you have to take care of your body,”; Hansbrough said. “;To get a couple under my belt made me feel better about my game. I still feel out of shape, but that will come as I play.”;

It wasn't all Hansbrough for the Tar Heels (6-0), however.

Point guard Ty Lawson had too much speed in the open court for the Fighting Irish (4-1) and he finished with 22 points and 11 assists. He was selected tournament MVP after totaling 22 assists against two turnovers in the three games.

 

Other Maui Invitational Games

No. 6 Texas 70, Oregon 57

Damion James had 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Longhorns (4-1) past the Ducks (3-3) in the third-place game.

Texas took command with a 21-1 run during which Oregon couldn't make a shot from the field and barely connected from the free-throw line. The versatile James, who was 9-for-11 from the field, scored the last seven points of the run on two free throws, a shot from the lane and a 3-pointer.

 

Alabama 58, St. Joseph's 48

Alonzo Gee had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the Crimson Tide (3-2) to a victory over the Hawks (2-3) in the fifth-place game.

The Crimson Tide finished with a 37-23 rebound advantage and outscored the Hawks 38-18 in the paint.

Tasheed Carr matched his career high with 23 points for the Hawks.

 

Indiana 81, Chaminade 79

Tom Pritchard had 19 points and nine rebounds for the Hoosiers (3-2), who held on to beat the Division II Silverswords (0-3) in the seventh-place game.

Pritchard was nearly the goat for the Hoosiers as he missed three of four free throws in the final 46 seconds. He made the second of two with 4.7 seconds left to give Indiana an 81-79 lead.

Noah Gottlieb's running 3-pointer from the left side at the buzzer fell short and the Silverswords saw their record drop to 5-68 in the 25 years they have hosted the tournament.

Joel Smith had 20 points and 10 rebounds for Chaminade, which outrebounded the Hoosiers 32-27.

 

Other Top 25 Games

No. 10 Purdue 71, Boston College 64

NEW YORK » E'Twaun Moore scored 19 points and the Boilermakers (5-0) withstood a late rally to beat the Eagles (3-2) in the semifinals of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Tyrese Rice finished with 17 points for Boston College. Josh Southern had nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

 

No. 11 Oklahoma 77, UAB 67

NEW YORK » Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the Sooners (5-0) beat the Blazers (4-1) in the other NIT Season-Tip Off semifinal at Madison Square Garden.

Trailing 62-60 with 5:09 left in a back-and-forth game, Oklahoma closed with a 17-5 run. Griffin scored five points during the spurt and keyed a three-point play by Austin Johnson by stealing the ball and pitching it ahead to his teammate on a fast break.

Paul Delaney III scored 23 points to lead UAB.

 

WAC

Pacific 67, Nevada 59

RENO, Nev. » Bryan LeDuc scored 23 points to lead the Tigers (2-1) over the Wolf Pack (2-2).

Luke Babbitt scored 19 points to lead Nevada.