February 6, 2007

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by Ethan Lin

Chapel Hill -- Lenoir CC and North Carolina tossed the lead back and forth during much of the first half of game play on Tuesday before the Tar Heels pulled ahead for good late in the half. Because there was no varsity game to follow - the Varsity team would play Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium the following night, a more intimate atmosphere pervaded the Dean E. Smith Center with bleachers pulled back and more exposed hardwood.

At halftime, Carolina led 35-24. Despite a Lenoir CC scare with a 7-0 run at the beginning of the second half, the Tar Heels were able to hang on to the lead before expanding the lead to double digits in the final minutes of regulation.

North Carolina sophomore guard JB Tanner shot a season and team high 32 points and hit 10 of 16 three point attempts in the victory.

"[Number] 14 [Tanner] was pawsy - it amazed me how he hit those 3 balls consistently" said Lenoir CC head coach Bobby Dawson. "They might need him for Duke tomorrow."

James Gallagher also scored in double figures with 15 points and had 7 rebounds.

"I've tried to step up in scoring and rebounding this semester after we'd lost some guys," said Gallagher. "We play against each other in practice, and the level of competition there helps us prepare."

Carolina's 41.54% shooting from the field was marginally higher than Lenoir's 37.5%, but the real difference in the game was the three point shot - Carolina made 13 of 28 three pointers to Lenoir CC's 1 of 14.

"We did a good job defensively, but we gave up too many easy shots and they killed us on the boards," said UNC coach C.B. McGrath. "We held on for the win."

Lenoir CC's leading scorers were Tony Lewis with 16 points and Ray Brinson with 15.

Coach Bobby Dawson was asked about playing in the Dean E. Smith Center.

"We played hard, but we didn't do what we could have done," said Dawson. "We enjoyed coming here."