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Henson, UNC fight off College of Charleston

Nov 29, 2010 - 3:42 AM Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) - John Henson scored a career-high 19 points, making several key plays as No. 25 North Carolina put away pesky College of Charleston, 74-69, with a late second-half rally.

Henson also grabbed seven rebounds for the Tar Heels (4-2), who used a 15-5 burst near the end of the game to take control. Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald added nine points apiece in the win.

College of Charleston (4-3) was led by a game-high 28 points from Andrew Goudelock.

The Tar Heels, after narrow setbacks to Minnesota and Vanderbilt in consecutive games, have now rebounded with back-to-back victories over UNC Asheville and the Cougars.

Sunday's game at Smith Center was closer than they would have liked.

Roy Williams' team had a 28-27 advantage at halftime, but struggled to put away the Cougars.

It took a decisive run to turn it around.

"I thought that our team in the second half came together with more emotion, more enthusiasm," Williams said. "And I think they lost themselves in the game more than we have at any point this year and I think that's the way you grow and mature as a team."

After Charleston scored to tie the game at 56-56 inside the 8:00 mark of the second half, the Tar Heels collected 15 of the next 20 points to take a 10- point lead.

Strickland had a fast-break dunk during the spurt, but the highlight may have been Henson's rising block at the other end. The long-armed sophomore followed with a hook shot on the ensuing possession to give UNC a 64-56 lead with under five minutes remaining.

Tyler Zeller scored in the lane to make it 71-61 at the 1:50 mark, capping the 15-5 Tar Heels run.

Goudelock did his best to keep Charleston in the game. His three-point play inside the 1:00 mark drew the Cougars within five, but they would never be closer than that. Goudelock hit a three-pointer with 6.1 seconds left for the final margin.

Game Notes

The Tars Heels scored nine straight points during their second-half run...North Carolina took a 4-3 lead in the all-time series. The powerhouse ACC program was upset last year by the Cougars, who play out of the Southern Conference...Charleston had a two-game winning streak snapped.