Tar Heels win with Hansbrough back on floor

The Associated Press • Published November 21, 2008

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Ty Lawson led six players in double figures with 19 points, including Tyler Hansbrough who had 13 in his season debut, and No. 1 North Carolina defeated UC Santa Barbara 84-67 Friday night.

Hansbrough missed the first two games for Carolina (3-0) because of a stress reaction in his right shin. Last season's national player of the year had been held out of practice and exhibition games since the injury was diagnosed in October.

He was in the starting lineup for the Tar Heels' first road game of season, a sellout in the 6,000-seat Thunderdome. The last time the Gauchos hosted a No. 1 team was in 1991, when they lost 76-55 to defending national champion UNLV.

James Nunnally scored a career-high 19 points off the bench for the Gauchos (1-2), who fell to 0-3 against Carolina.

No. 2 Connecticut 89, La Salle 81

At Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands, Kemba Walker scored 23 points and Jeff Adrien added 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Connecticut to a hard-fought victory over La Salle in the Paradise Jam.

The Huskies (3-0) trailed in the early minutes, but were up 46-40 at halftime under the leadership of guard A.J. Price. They never trailed in the second half, leading by as many as 10 points.

Rodney Green had a game-high 25 points for La Salle (1-2). Ruben Guillandeaux and Yves Mekongo Mbala each had 13 points.

No. 6 Pittsburgh 86, Akron 67

At Pittsburgh, Sam Young gave Akron problems no matter where he was on the floor, scoring 26 points and taking control during a Pittsburgh surge late in the first half that carried the Panthers.

Levance Fields had 19 points and seven assists and DeJuan Blair added 16 points and 13 rebounds for the Panthers (3-0). Young scored 11 of Pitt's final 15 points in the first half as the Panthers doubled their lead from 28-19 to 45-27.

Brett McKnight had 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, but Akron (2-1) lost its 20th consecutive game against a Top 25 opponent.

No. 8 Notre Dame 65, Loyola Marymount 54

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