No. 25 North Carolina 82, Davidson 58

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Posted 11:53PM on Tuesday, January 3, 2006

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) Roy Williams likes the talent, athleticism and competitiveness of his North Carolina squad. The coach would also like his young team to show a little more maturity. Freshman Tyler Hansbrough scored a season-high 23 points and the 25th-ranked Tar Heels turned in a solid defensive performance to beat Davidson 82-58 on Tuesday night. But Williams sounded almost exasperated with parts of his team's performance heading into Atlantic Coast Conference play. ``I'm not very impressed with how intelligent we were tonight,'' Williams said. ``I love my club from the shoulders down,'' he said. ``We're going to have to see about some brain transplants, but other than that, we'll be all right.'' Reyshawn Terry added 16 points and four blocks for the Tar Heels (8-2), who open conference play at home Saturday against No. 13 North Carolina State. There was plenty for Williams to feel good about heading into the matchup. The Wildcats (7-5) came in averaging 85 points per game, but managed just 12 through the first 18 minutes and had to fight for every one of them. The Wildcats shot 32 percent and committed 20 turnovers for the game, while the Tar Heels took a 54-31 edge on the boards. The Tar Heels used a 17-0 run to take a 22-point lead late in the first half, and led by as many as 29 points. But the Tar Heels struggled at times on offense, committing 20 turnovers as Davidson frequently double-teamed Hansbrough in the post. And as the game wore on with the outcome no longer in doubt, Williams grew irritated with several mental breakdowns that could prove costly against ACC opponents. Just don't bother reminding Williams that the Tar Heels are an inexperienced group after losing their top seven scorers from last year's national championship team. ``I told them, 'I'm not satisfied with using the excuse that you're freshmen,''' he said. ``We've played 10 games. You've got to make better decisions.'' Williams never let up during the game, constantly yelling for his players to get in the right defensive position or repeatedly turning to instruct players on the bench when something went wrong on the court. At one point, he grew so irked after his team allowed a three-point play with about 9 minutes left that he ripped off his sports coat and flung it on the bench. Barely a minute later, he called a timeout to admonish his team after it didn't get back down court following a basket by Hansbrough and allowed Brendan Winters to get an uncontested layup. His players got the message. ``Everybody knows at that point he's all business,'' said freshman Marcus Ginyard, who had four of North Carolina's 13 steals. ``We've just got to make it where he's not doing that anymore, where we play off our own intensity and not what Coach is throwing at us.'' Davidson earned one of its biggest wins in program history by beating the Tar Heels 58-54 in the Smith Center early in the 2001-02 season. The Tar Heels had won the two meetings since by an average margin of 19 points, and used their defense to extend that streak with relatively little trouble. The Tar Heels held the Wildcats to eight first-half field goals, including a run of 12 straight possessions and nearly 7 minutes without a point. Leading 17-12, the Tar Heels locked down on the Wildcats and forced them into nine straight misses and four turnovers during that drought. The Wildcats as with much of the game often found themselves staring at dwindling shot clocks with the Tar Heels chasing them out beyond the 3-point arc. Davidson got no closer than 14 points early in the second half. Winters scored 18 points on 7-of-21 shooting to lead the Wildcats. ``The defensive effort by North Carolina tonight was extraordinary,'' Davidson coach Bob McKillop said. ``They made every catch, every dribble and every pass an adventure for us and put us on our heels.'' (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)