The Tar Heels Begin Season with a Win
Nov. 5, 2008
by Ben Baden Chapel Hill - An injury-plagued men's junior varsity basketball team had no trouble taking down their first opponent, the Mt. Olive Trojans, 99-63, on Tuesday afternoon at the Smith Center. Mt. Olive held the lead in the first half until a layup by starting guard Thomas Thornton with 6:30 left. The Tar Heels then went on a 21-6 run to end the half leading 49-32. The Tar Heels looked much more comfortable in the second half, outscoring the Trojans by 29 points. Coach C.B. McGrath said the slow start was to be expected in the first game of the season. "First game jitters for everybody," McGrath said. "We only had three returning guys that played today." "Six freshmen playing in their first J.V. game so obviously they're going to be nervous." Returning players Van Hatchell and Claude Shields led the Tar Heels in scoring, both finishing with 16 points. "We're going be good, we're just going to have to get everything organized and get to playing together," starting guard Hatchell said. McGrath said that nothing is more valuable then the young players picking up game experience. "Having a game experience, you can't replace that with anything so taking quick shots didn't really bother me," he said. The junior varsity team only fielded nine players. Returning players Daniel Bolick and Ford Tanner didn't play due to knee injuries, and first-year player Todd Morecraft also sat out because of the flu. Bolick is expected to possibly play again soon while Tanner is recovering from a surgery that will leave him out for a longer period of time. The junior varsity team will play Pfeiffer, which they defeated 112-87 last season, on Saturday afternoon before the first men's varsity exhibition game.
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