BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —Larry Drew II refuses to let the other shoe drop.
Just two weeks removed from wondering if a .500 record would even make the NIT tournament, Drew and North Carolina are headed to Madison Square Garden after a 60-55 win against UAB.
For the second straight game, it was Drew, the oft-maligned point guard and UNC’s new go-to player in the clutch, with the critical play.
WHAT THE TAR HEELS FACE NEXT
Time: 9 p.m. Tuesday against the winner of tonight’s game between Rhode Island and Virginia Tech
Location: Madison Square Garden
Info: www.nit.org
With 45 seconds remaining and UNC up just three points, Drew beat his man off the dribble and laid the ball in. Twenty seconds later, Drew drained two free throws to put UNC up by five again and send the Tar Heels to New York.
“I mean, my confidence is right where it should be,” Drew said. “I’m just going out there and trying to showcase it.”
Tuesday’s game makes twice that the sophomore point guard catapulted UNC into continued postseason play.
“It’s good for him because he’s had a lot of heat from other people and the press,” freshman John Henson said.
Drew’s 11 points and six assists were key, but Henson’s 14 points — 10 in the second half — and UNC’s rebounding dominance carried UNC against a UAB team that just wasn’t big enough.
“I’ll tell you guys, our team played really hard,” Williams said. “I’ve been so proud of our team these last three games.”
The Tar Heels owned a 27-16 rebounding advantage in the opening period. Deon Thompson led the way with a game-high 12 rebounds and 14 points for his first double-double since Nov. 23, 2009.
“It helps when you haven’t been making a lot of shots,” Thompson said. “The extra possession really helps your team out.”
Using that advantage and a UAB team that couldn’t find a bucket in the second half, UNC kept its nose in front.
The Blazers’ Jamarr Sanders and Elijah Millsap added their names to the litany of guards who torched UNC. Sanders had 12 points on four 3-pointers in the first half to keep UAB close, and Millsap scored the Blazers’ first 13 points of the second half, but the two combined for one field goal in the final 10 minutes of the game.
“We finally got Sanders to miss a shot,” Williams said. “Marcus (Ginyard) did a nice job, Will (Graves) did a nice job.”
But Henson’s two straight buckets — one of them a circus hook-shot — put UNC up 51-47 with just 3:22 to play, and UNC controlled the end of the game.
“It finally came through late in the game, which it hadn’t been doing lately,” Henson said. “Fortunately it went in.”
UNC, cursed by turnovers all season, yet again fell victim to giveaways in the first half with 11. But in the second half, UNC only turned the ball over four times.
“The first half we killed ourselves with turnovers,” Williams said. “But if we average four a half … I’m good at math. And that’s the type of play you have to have.”
UNC managed to force UAB into 12 turnovers, and the giveaways snuffed out Blazer comebacks.
For the game, UAB shot 28.8 percent from the floor.
The Tar Heels move on to play the winner of Virginia Tech and Rhode Island in the NIT semifinals next Tuesday, March 30.
The Tar Heels played early in the season at Madison Square Garden, losing to Syracuse in the 2K Sports Coaches vs. Cancer Classic 87-71.
“There’s definitely some unfinished business up there,” Thompson said. “To have another chance to go back up there and maybe come out with the championship would be a good way to go out.”
But the NIT semifinals offer a chance for a bit of redemption, especially for UNC’s highly touted freshman class that’s struggled this season.
“It means a lot,” Henson said. “Things haven’t been going our way, and it’s just a chance for us to get better as a team.”
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
