National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
North Carolina 84, Long Beach St. 78
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 10, 2011
Where: Dean E. Smith Student Activities Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Officials: # Brian O'Connell, # Louis Andrakakos, # Mike Eades
Attendance: 20426

John Henson had 24 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 4 North Carolina had to come back in the second half to beat visiting Long Beach State 84-78 on Saturday.

Tyler Zeller added 17 points and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels (8-2), becoming the school’s 64th 1,000-point scorer.

Point guard Kendall Marshall scored only two points but finished with 16 assists, helping North Carolina win its 51st straight non-conference game at the Smith Center.

Long Beach State’s Larry Anderson scored seven unanswered points to help the 49ers take a 45-40 lead into halftime after hit team shot 7-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Casper Ware scored a game-high 29 points for the 49ers (4-5), but only eight of those came after halftime as the Tar Heels amped up the defensive pressure on the perimeter.

North Carolina opened the second half on a 14-8 spurt and took a 54-53 lead on Marshall’s left-handed layup with 14:11 remaining.

Minutes later, Marshall found Zeller wide open on a fast break for a three-point play that extended the lead to 67-59.

It was Henson’s second straight double-double. Harrison Barnes finished with 20 points.
Top Game Performances
 
Long Beach St.   North Carolina
Casper Ware 29 Scoring John Henson 24
Casper Ware 5 Assists Kendall Marshall 16
T.J. Robinson 12 Rebounds John Henson 10
Larry Anderson 3 Free Throws Made Tyler Zeller 3
T.J. Robinson 3 Steals Reggie Bullock 3
Edis Dervisevic 1 Blocks John Henson 4
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Long Beach St. 78 47.1 7-21 5-8 16 33 1 7 15
North Carolina 84 51.5 6-16 8-10 28 33 6 9 12