North Carolina Rolls Past Creighton 87-73 in NCAA

North Carolina Rolls Past Creighton 87-73 in NCAA

John Henson proved his injury wouldn’t stand in the way to help North Carolina's latest push for the Final Four.

Henson got 13 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks in his return from a wrist injury during the second half of North Carolina's 87-73 victory over Creighton in the third round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday.

North Carolina had a fast start and built a 15-point lead in the first half, then kept control and pushed to 19-point lead after the break for their second straight double-digit victory in the Midwest Regional.

Doug McDermott had 20 points for the eight-seeded Bluejays (29-6) and couldn't keep up with the hot-shooting Tar Heels.

Henson missed the last 3 games after spraining his left wrist during the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament when he fell to the court while being fouled.

His return drew a welcome roar from the home-state fans filling the Greensboro Coliseum, both when he jogged out with his teammates for pregame warm-ups and when he was introduced during the starting lineups.

With Henson's return, the Tar Heels appeared to be more confident in time for a trip to the regional semifinals in St. Louis.

Creighton came in leading the country with a 50.7 percent shooting average, but couldn't figure out a way to put the on-the-attack Tar Heels on the defensive.

North Carolina gave series of shots to build a 39-24 lead on Barnes' 3-pointer with 5½ minutes left. UNC led by eight at half, but Creighton never got closer after the break.

Reggie Bullock added 13 points and 8 rebounds for the Tar Heels, including three 3-pointers. The Tar Heels hit 14 of their first 19 shots and finished at 51 percent for the game.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday March 19 2012, 9:04 AM EDT. Ref: Yahoo. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0