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Raleigh, NC -- Top-ranked North Carolina defeated No. 16 Mount St. Mary’s 113-74 in the NCAA Division I Tournament East Regional First Round on Friday. The 74 points are the most points scored by the Mount in an NCAA Division I Tournament game.
Chris Vann (Woodbridge, Va./Gar-Field) paced the NEC champion Mountaineers with 16 points while Jeremy Goode (Charlotte, N.C./Providence Day) registered 15 points. Jean Cajou (Fairfax, Va./Paul VI) added 13 points and Kelly Beidler (Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood) chipped in 10 points in the loss.
Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson fueled the Tar Heels (33-2) with 21 points apiece. Wayne Ellington added 16 points, Deon Thompson posted 15 points and Alex Stepheson recorded 12 points.
Mount St. Mary’s gave North Carolina a battle to start the game before the Tar Heels ended the first half on a run and continued its momentum in the second half to advance to the second round of the NCAA Division I Tournament.
Just like the start to the Mountaineers’ Opening Round Game against Coppin State on Tuesday, North Carolina posted the first three baskets of the contest to grab a 7-0 advantage.
Goode got the Mountaineers on the scoreboard on a jumper at the 18:03 mark. Lawson nailed a trey before Markus Mitchell (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) converted the traditional 3-point play to cut the deficit to 10-5 with 17:11 remaining in the first half. After Marcus Ginyard hit 1 of 2 at the free throw line, Vann nailed a 3-ball at 16:45 to trim the margin to three points at 11-8. Ginyard and Beidler, Hansbrough and Sam Atupem (Newport News, Va./Woodside) each traded baskets on the next four possessions to maintain the three-point difference.
The Tar Heels then went on a 9-0 with points coming from four different players to take a 24-15 advantage. Cajou nailed a 3-pointer to halt the run before the two teams trading baskets over the next four possessions with Vann scoring both times for Mount St. Mary’s to keep the Mount within nine points at 28-19. Thompson then hit the backend of two charity tosses before Atupem scored in the paint to make the score 29-21.
Sparked by four points by Lawson, North Carolina notched six unanswered points to grab a 14-point advantage with 8:15 remaining.
Mitchell and Beidler traded baskets with Hansbrough on the next four times down the court before Cajou registered traditional 3-point play at 7:13 to trim the margin to 39-28. After Stepheson scored in the paint, Mitchell hit a jumper and Goode nailed a deep trey to cut the deficit to eight points at 41-33 with 5:56 on the clock.
The Tar Heels then scored the next seven points to reclaim a double-digit advantage and went into the locker room with a 60-41 lead.
North Carolina controlled the play in the second half, including posting an 8-0 run to start the final stanza and a 17-0 run to go on for the 113-72 victory.
Vann, who was named the Player of the Game by CBS, ends his career ranked 39th in program history with 1,019 career points.
Mount St. Mary’s was making its third NCAA Division I Tournament appearance. The Mount lost to Kentucky 113-67 in 1995 and to Michigan State 76-53 in 1999 before defeating the Eagles 69-60 on Tuesday to earn its first NCAA Division I Tournament win.
The Mountaineers conclude the season 19-15, their second-best win total since the squad moved to Division I in 1988-89. Mount St. Mary’s finished with a winning record for the first time since the 1996-97 season.