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Lawson, North Carolina obliterate UNC Asheville

Dec 1, 2008 - 4:02 AM CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Not even a return trip from Hawaii could knock North Carolina off its scoring binge.

Ty Lawson scored 22 points as top-ranked North Carolina recorded its highest point total of the season with a 116-48 thrashing of UNC Asheville on Sunday.

Danny Green had 18 points and Deon Thompson added 17 and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels (7-0), who have scored at least 98 points in each of their last four games. North Carolina won the Maui Invitational on Wednesday with a 102-87 victory over Notre Dame.

The 116 points were the most scored by the Tar Heels in the six-year tenure under Roy Williams.

UNC was without reigning National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough, who sat out for precautionary reasons as he continues to recover from a preseason shin injury.

"It's a hard plane ride back, those seats are so small, and we had some problems that you heard about," Williams said about the reasoning to sit out Hansbrough. "Came back on Friday and he could barely touch the rim, his foot was so stiff. But then he practiced and it got really loose for him, and he felt good at the end of practice."

With Hansbrough dealing with his injury woes, Lawson has been the major driving force for the Tar Heels, averaging 17.5 points and 7.5 assists over the last four games while UNC has put up 107.8 points.

The junior guard, who went 7-of-10 from the field, also handed out eight assists and tied a career high with five steals while playing just 22 minutes.

"I thought Ty was really dominating," Williams said. "He just really set the tone of the whole game I thought he was really, really something."

Lawson scored 14 of his points in the first half, including four along with two assists on a 10-0 run that gave the Tar Heels a 27-12 advantage with 9:22 left in the opening half. He also had another four points on a 16-0 run that went into halftime, putting UNC ahead, 53-19.

"We didn't get back fast enough," UNC Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach said. "This was hopefully and great learning lesson for us, but that's a tough loss to take, no matter who you're playing."

Thompson added 12 of his scoring total before the intermission, while Green notched all 18 of his in the second half.

Green connected on six 3-pointers after the break, setting a career high. The performance came just five days after the senior swingman knocked down a personal-best five baskets from the arc in the semifinal win over Oregon in Maui on Tuesday.

Wayne Ellington and freshman Ed Davis chipped in 13 points each for North Carolina, which shot 57 percent (44-of-77), connecting on a season-high 14 3-pointers.

It was the most made 3-pointers by the Tar Heels since they had 14 against Virginia on January 29, 2005.

Reid Augst, Jason Ridenhour and Matt Dickey had eight points each for UNC Asheville (3-3), which went 18-of-68 (26.5 percent) from the field and committed 25 turnovers.

While he was in uniform, it is unknown if Hansbrough will be available when UNC clashes with No. 6 Michigan State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday.

"I have no idea if he will play Wednesday night," Williams said. "It depends on what happens Tuesday at practice and Wednesday at shootaround."