Thompson Puts No. 11 North Carolina Back On Track With Win Over Gardner-Webb

Deon Thompson shot 9-of-11 from the field to total 22 points, leading the 11th-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels in a 93-72 rout over Gardner-Webb at the Smith Center.

Thompson also hauled in 10 rebounds, and Ed Davis was a dominant presence inside with 15 points and 13 boards for North Carolina (5-1), which bounced back from its loss to Syracuse at Madison Square Garden. Tyler Zeller added 16 points in the win.

Grayson Flittner made nine three-pointers and had a game-high 32 points for the Bulldogs (3-1), who suffered their first loss of the season. Brian McNair was the next highest scorer for the team with nine points, and Josh Henley had 10 rebounds in the setback.

Flittner hit a three-pointer for Gardner-Webb just past the four-minute mark to pull the Bulldogs to within 8-7, but UNC responded with a 9-2 run to go in front by eight.

Zeller had four points on the stretch, and John Henson’s three-point play made it 17-9.

Leading by six, 23-17, a bit later, the Tar Heels ripped off 12 straight points to take control. Thompson scored the first four points, and Davis’ dunk with eight minutes left gave the hosts a 35-17 advantage.

North Carolina led, 53-38, at halftime.

UNC quickly pushed its lead to 21 early in the second half on another Davis dunk, but Gardner-Webb made it a 14-point game, 62-48, on a layup from McNair 5 1/2 minutes into the half.

That would be as close as the Bulldogs got, as the Tar Heels made it a 20- point game again on David Wear’s layup. Gardner-Webb got back-to-back three- pointers just past the midway point of the period from Flittner and Anton Silver to make it 75-60, but Thompson’s slam with six minutes left pushed UNC’s lead to 84-65, and the Tar Heels cruised down the stretch.

North Carolina leads the all-time series, 3-0…The Tar Heels dominated the boards, 50-32…The Bulldogs shot just 37.7 percent, while UNC made 56.1 percent.

Via Sports Network