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Hansbrough powers North Carolina over NC State

Feb 1, 2009 - 1:10 AM RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- A rebound performance by Tyler Hansbrough made sure North Carolina did not need any last-second heroics.

Hansbrough scored 31 points to lead the sixth-ranked Tar Heels to their sixth straight win, a 93-76 victory over North Carolina State on Saturday.

Ty Lawson added 16 points and Deon Thompson collected 10 and eight rebounds for North Carolina (19-2, 5-2 ACC), which has won five straight in the Atlantic Coast Conference since dropping its first two league contests.

The Tar Heels shot 57 percent (35-of-61) from the field but had trouble putting away their intra-state rival. A quick 7-0 spurt pulled the Wolfpack to within 78-70, but the visitors countered with an 11-2 run, capped by Hansbrough's fourth 3-pointer of the season that built the advantage to 89-72 with 2:30 remaining.

"Every time we made a run, they made big plays," N.C. State forward Dennis Horner said. "I guess that's what a winning team does. We made some mistakes during that time and they capitalized on it."

Thompson scored a pair of easy buckets inside to start the run as the Tar Heels dominated the paint throughout, holding a 46-16 advantage in points in the paint.

"We must have missed six or seven layups in the paint, so we had opportunities and we had wide-open looks on the perimeter," N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe said. "Our lack of made shots was us not being able to convert inside."

After scoring a season-low eight points in a last-second win over Florida State on Wednesday, Hansbrough knocked down 12-of-17 shots - even a 3-pointer - as the Tar Heels held off a game Wolfpack squad.

"It was very frustrating, because we worked so hard getting it close, then once we get it there, something killed the momentum and they would pull away again," N.C. State forward Brandon Costner said.

Courtney Fells did his best to keep North Carolina State (11-8, 2-5) close after halftime, scoring 20 of his 22 points behind four 3-pointers.

"I was afraid there in the second half that Courtney Fells was going to hit every single shot," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "He causes some defensive matchup problems for us."

But the Wolfpack were overmatched on the defensive end, unable to get stops on a consistent basis and cut into the lead. The Tar Heels scored 50 points after the break.

North Carolina State jumped out to an 11-8 lead before UNC ran off 13 straight points to take a lead it would not surrender.

Hansbrough and Thompson had four points each during a 12-5 run for the Tar Heels that closed the half, turning a 31-26 edge into a 43-31 advantage.

"He's (Hansbrough) a great player," Horner said. "We forced him to take some tough shots and he knocked them down. That's what good players do."

Costner had 13 points and eight rebounds and Farnold Degand added 10 for the Wolfpack, who have lost six of their last eight.