The Tar Heels had to play without its engine but managed to putter past Brigham Young 73-63 in a game closer than the final score. The win gave Carolina the Las Vegas Invitational title Saturday night. (11/24)

Ty Lawson turned an ankle in the first two minutes of the game and did not return to play. Trailing 59-58 without their starting point guard and with less than eight minutes to play, an energetic and emotional Danny Green bolstered a Tar Heel attack that outscored BYU 15-4 over the last 7:23.

While Green scored six of his 14 points during the stretch and got a couple of key rebounds and steals, it was a Wayne Ellington's three-pointer from a foot past the NBA three-point line that opened it up a bit at 67-61 with two minutes to go.

BYU, which couldn't seem to miss for much of the game, went cold over the last quarter of the game as the Tar Heels defense stiffened and perhaps the Cougars tired a bit. Trent Plaisted, the Cougars' 7-foot center, dominated inside for much of the game (scoring 24 points and grabbing an impressive 17 rebounds) while guard Jonathan Tavernari drilled half a dozen three-pointers to give BYU an inside-outside game that gave the Heels trouble.

Coach Roy Williams called it an ugly game. True, the Tar Heels didn't shoot very well for much of the game but scored when they needed it. And, the Tar Heels didn't rebound very well for much of the game (being outrebounded 43-39) but rebounded when they really needed it (especially a Green offensive rebound off a Bobby Frasor missed free throw in the last minute that led to a pair of free throws by Tyler Hansbrough to wrap up the game).

Hansbrough, the tournament MVP, scored 21 and hauled in eight rebounds. Green joined Hansbrough on the all-tournament team as did Ellington, who scored 15 and snatched six rebounds.

Carolina hopped out to an 11-6 lead but found themselves behind at 16-15 following a left-handed hook in the post by Plaisted. Midway through the first half, the Tar Heels opened it back up to 26-19 after a transition basket on the fast break by Green.

The Tar Heels worked the lead up to 10 before a swished three-pointer at the buzzer by Tavernari pulled the underdog Cougars back to within seven at 38-31. A 13-4 run to open the second half, highlighted by Plaisted's aggressiveness around the basket and another Tavernari three, put BYU back up at 44-42.

It went back and forth until midway through the second half when the Heels opened up a five-point lead only to see it erode to nothing. With eight minutes to go, BYU took their last lead at 59-58. That's when the Tar Heels went on that 15-4 run to wrap it up.

It appears that the injury to Lawson is not that serious and that he remained out as a precaution. The adversity may actually help Carolina down the road... but make no mistake, they'll need their engine