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Hansbrough, Terry spark No. 2 North Carolina

Nov 15, 2006 - 2:13 AM CHARLOTTE, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Dealing with Tyler Hansbrough was tough enough, but Reyshawn Terry proved to be too much for Sacred Heart to handle.

Hansbrough scored 29 points and Terry added 18 - all in the second half - to power second-ranked North Carolina to a 103-81 season-opening victory over Sacred Heart in the NIT Season Tip-Off.

The Tar Heels had an expectedly tough time in the first half, despite 18 points on 8-of-8 shooting from sophomore forward Hansbrough, a consensus preseason All-American.

Still, the Pioneers were managing to stay within striking range until Terry unleashed his high-flying act, scoring on an array of layups and dunks, including a thunderous jam off an inbounds play early in the second half.

The 6-8 senior forward had 10 points in a 16-5 run, including the final six, to help North Carolina break away from a 42-37 halftime lead to a 61-45 advantage with 14:00 to play.

"Sacred Heart shot the ball really well. We have a young team, this was a good opener for us," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. "Tyler was sensational in the first half. Reyshawn gave us a big lift emotionally with his play in the second half. We were much smarter with the ball in the second half."

North Carolina extended the lead to 70-49 on another dunk by Terry with 10:40 left and Sacred Heart got no closer than 14 thereafter.

"We struggled a little coming out in the second half," Pioneers coach Dave Bike said. "They protected the ball better and were able to stretch the lead out."

Hansbrough, last season's Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year, was unstoppable in the early going. He had 18 points and was perfect from the floor as North Carolina went ahead, 33-26, with 4:41 to go.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Luke Granato, who was superb off the bench for Sacred Heart, cut the lead to 35-34. Carolina ran off seven straight points before Tavio Hobson's 3-pointer made it 42-37 at the half.

"Defensively they were really quick," Hansbrough said of Sacred Heart. "They may have lacked a little height, but they played hard and boxed out really well."

Drew Shubik opened the second half with a 3-pointer to pull the Pioneers within two and give brief hope of an upset of the Tar Heels, who lost to Hampton in 2001 and Santa Clara in 2004 in season openers.

North Carolina got its running game going, though, with Terry the beneficiary of several easy baskets.

"This is the best team I've ever been on," Terry said. "It's just going to take a little more time to get a better feel for each other as the season progresses."

Granato led the Pioneers with 24 points, all on 3-pointers. He was 8-for-14 from the arc as Sacred Heart shot 43 percent (31-of-73) overall.

"We knew they really liked to force the tempo and play helter-skelter defense, try to force turnovers, so we knew what to expect coming in," Granato said.

That number paled in comparison to North Carolina, which shot a sizzling 59 percent (40-of-68). Hansbrough made 11-of-14 shots in missing his career high by a point. He has shot at least 50 percent in 26 of his 32 games at Carolina.

Terry was 6-of-9 shooting to go along with eight rebounds and two steals.