North Carolina rides Thompson, stingy defense to a quarterfinal win over UAB

North Carolina tops UAB in NIT quarterfinals

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Deon Thompson had 14 points and 12 rebounds to lead stingy North Carolina to a 60-55 victory over UAB on Tuesday night in the National Invitation Tournament quarterfinals.

The Tar Heels (19-16) held UAB without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes down the stretch to earn their first trip to the NIT semifinals since 1973. They will face Virginia Tech or Rhode Island.

Larry Drew, whose basket with 2 seconds left sealed a second-round win at Mississippi State, scored on an uncontested layup and two free throws in the final 46 seconds to help put UAB away.

The Blazers went without a field goal from the 10:21 mark until Dexter Fields’ putback with 35 seconds left cut North Carolina’s lead to 54-51. North Carolina hit six straight free throws after that.

The defending national champions are seeking a consolation prize after missing the NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels’ only NIT title came in 1971.

Freshman John Henson tied his career high with 14 points for the Tar Heels, who ended UAB’s five-year, 33-game home nonconference winning streak. Drew scored 11 to go with seven rebounds and six assists.

Elijah Millsap scored UAB’s first 13 points in the second half and finished with 18 points and seven rebounds. He was coming off a 27-point, 15-rebound performance against North Carolina State but scored only three in the first half.

Jamarr Sanders had 17 points and made 4 of 8 3-pointers for UAB, which shot just 26.9 percent (15 of 52).

Fellow UAB starters Howard Crawford, Kenneth Cooper and Aaron Johnson were a combined 1 of 20 shooting with 10 points and eight turnovers.

Bigger North Carolina made it hard for UAB to score around the basket, forcing turnovers and batting away shots when the Blazers managed to push it inside. Seven-footer Tyler Zeller blocked five shots and altered plenty more.

The Tar Heels built a 45-38 lead midway through the second half after scoring seven straight points.

The Blazers managed to tie it up 47-47 when Sanders was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit all three free throws with 4:25 left. It took them awhile longer to end a string of 10 straight missed shots, though.

UAB hadn’t trailed in the NIT until North Carolina hit the game’s first basket. But the game went into the half tied at 25 with the teams shooting a combined 17 of 55.

The Blazers were 5 of 10 from 3-point range and 2 of 16 closer to the basket before the half.