Heels trample Nevada

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Tyler Hansbrough scored 26 points and Wayne Ellington added a career-high 23 to help No. 1 North Carolina beat Nevada 106-70 in a non-conference men’s basketball game on Thursday night.

Ty Lawson had 16 points and a career-best 10 assists for the Tar Heels (12-0), who ran off 19 straight points spanning halftime to earn the latest in a series of lopsided victories.

North Carolina is off to its best start since winning 17 straight to open the 1997-98 season. Since a tough 72-68 win against Davidson to open the season, the Tar Heels’ closest game was an 86-77 win at Kentucky on Dec. 1. They have also scored at least 100 points in five games.

Armon Johnson scored 23 points to lead the Wolf Pack (7-5), who had won five straight games and hung close with the Tar Heels until late in the first half. But that was before Lawson, a speedy sophomore, kicked North Carolina’s offense into high gear.

The news wasn’t all good for the Tar Heels. Reserve guard Bobby Frasor tore his left anterior cruciate ligament when he landed awkwardly on the sideline while making a steal midway through the second half.

Lawson’s layup off a turnover started the decisive run and gave the Tar Heels a 43-35 lead with 48 seconds left in the half. Then, after a tip-in by Alex Stepheson, Lawson struck again with a steal and a transition dunk.

Finally, he rebounded an airballed jumper and raced the length of the court for a layup just before the horn to make it 49-35.