Bounced in Big Apple

The No. 2-ranked Tar Heels beat the No. 22 Vols 101-87 in the consolation game of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

North Carolina All-American Tyler Hansbrough and freshman Brandan Wright, both of whom appeared taller than their listed height of 6-foot-9, overpowered UT's smallish front line to lead the Tar Heels (4-1).

Hansbrough scored 27 points and pulled down nine rebounds and Wright, of Nashville's Brentwood Academy, had 19 points and eight rebounds.

The Tar Heels' size, talent and athleticism amounted to a 56-35 halftime lead that even a gallant Vols effort couldn't overcome.

"They were just that big and took advantage of us as well as anybody could,'' said UT coach Bruce Pearl. The Vols (4-2) were out-rebounded 54-30.

The Vols' perimeter game was largely AWOL in the first half. Chris Lofton scored one point through the first 20 minutes before awakening in the second half.

At that, it took JaJuan Smith being ejected on a controversial "flagrant intentional foul'' with 12:34 left to play and UT down 72-59 before Lofton would snap out of his Big Apple funk.

"I couldn't get going early and I didn't step up,'' said Lofton, who shared scoring honors with Smith with 18 points. "I wasn't as aggressive as I need to be ... It was nobody's fault but mine.

"JaJuan was hot (shooting) when he got ejected, so I felt like when he went out I had to step up and do something.''

North Carolina was up 81-64, with 9:16 remaining before the vintage Lofton returned, scoring 14 points over the final nine minutes.

When Lofton scored on a put-back with 3:04 remaining to make it 96-84, it was as close as the Vols had been since the 7A 1/2-minute mark of the first half when the Tar Heels led 35-23.

Dane Bradshaw, who had 10 points and seven assists, followed Lofton's bucket with one of his five steals, giving UT a chance to cut the lead to single digits.

But Lofton misfired on his next two treys, and freshman Ramar Smith also missed a 3-pointer. When North Carolina's Ty Lawson buried a 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining, making it 101-86, the door slammed shut.

Tennessee, however, was anything but sour after the game despite leaving the Big Apple 0-for-2, having also lost to Butler on Wednesday night.

"I'm not satisfied with the loss, but in my four years at Tennessee, I've never been around a team that rallied around each other the way we did tonight,'' Bradshaw said. "I was extremely proud to be on the team and we grew up a lot together tonight.

"It gave us a look at what it really takes to be a national championship caliber team and it's great to have that look early in the season to where we can set that bar ourselves.''

Pearl was equally pleased with a second-half effort that saw UT outscore the Tar Heels 52-45 over the final 20 minutes.

"The team came together today. ... We were up against it a little bit, the crowd was against us, and the kids came together in a lot of ways,'' said Pearl, who lost for the first time in 18 games in which the Vols have scored 80 or more points. "We were down 20 or so at the half and I still thought we could come back and make a run.''

North Carolina coach Roy Williams admitted he grew frustrated with his team's inability to pull away.

"In the second half they (UT) started making a lot of shots, a lot of threes and we were able to score some on the other end as well,'' Williams said. "We just didn't take care of the ball — 22 assists, 24 turnovers.

"It's a work in progress, but I do think we have some great material to work with.''

That was evident from the opening tip as North Carolina led throughout, charging to the 21-point halftime advantage with the lead swelling to 23 in the opening moments of the second half.

It wasn't until JaJuan Smith hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 16:15 left that the Vols mounted a comeback with a 9-1 run. The trey made it 66-47, and after Wayne Chism drew a charge, Smith came back down court and buried another 3-pointer from the top of the key that made it 66-50 at the 15:44 mark.

Hansbrough hit one of his 11 free throws, but Chism answered with a 3-pointer that closed the run and made it 67-53 with 14:49 remaining.

"I think they thought they were going to run away with it,'' said Chism, who scored 12 points and drew four charges in the second half. "We've got a lot to work on, but we can't keep our heads down.

"The way we came together and played in the second half, we should keep our heads up.''

The Vols' next game is at Louisiana-Lafayette at 8 p.m. Monday. UT returns home to play Murray State at 7 p.m. next Friday.