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Top-ranked North Carolina too much for Old Dominion

Nov 24, 2007 - 8:27 AM LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- Top-ranked North Carolina proved to be just too much for Old Dominion to keep up with.

Tyler Hansbrough scored 27 points as the hot-shooting Tar Heels raced away from the Monarchs, 99-82, in the Las Vegas Invitational on Friday.

North Carolina will now play Brigham Young, which pulled off a 78-76 upset of No. 6 Louisville earlier Friday, in the final on Saturday.

"I think it will be an uptempo game," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "I hope its going to be a great game. I'm not trying to lay coach-speak on you. If we guard the way we did tonight, it's going to be tough. BYU is awfully impressive."

The Tar Heels shot 65 percent (17-of-26) in the first half en route to a four-point lead at the break. North Carolina did not slow down after intermission, scoring 56 points in the second half on 73 percent shooting (22-of-30).

Carolina (4-0) led by double digits over the final 10 minutes of the game but fell one point shy of scoring 100 for the third straight game.

Ty Lawson added a career-high 23 points and Wayne Ellington had 17 for the Tar Heels, who improved to 8-0 all-time against Old Dominion.

"Ty Lawson pushed the tempo of the game and was extremely important for us," Williams said. "Tyler (Hansbrough) and Ty (Lawson) did an excellent job tonight."

North Carolina was outrebounded 30-24, but committed just nine turnovers compared to 18 from Old Dominion.

The Monarchs (3-2) led by as many as six points in the first half before a 14-5 run gave the Tar Heels a 38-35 advantage with 2:02 to play before halftime.

After scoring 14 points in the first half for the Monarchs, Brandon Johnson picked up his fourth foul just over two minutes into the second half.

After Johnson's fourth foul, the Tar Heels went on a 12-3 run after to turn a three-point advantage into a 60-48 lead with 14:38 left to play.

Old Dominion placed five players in double figures - led by Johnson's 16 - and shot 56 percent (31-of-55) for the game.

"They were able to penetrate and get some inside shots," Williams said. "We were not able to keep them out of the lane. We need to do a better job of defending."