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ST. LOUIS - No. 2 North Carolina used a strong second half to pull away for a 69-48 victory over host Saint Louis Friday night. The Tar Heels (10-1) led by just one at halftime, but shot 60 percent from the field in the second half to cruise to the 21-point victory in front of a record crowd of 22,539 at Scottrade Center. The much-heralded matchup in the paint between Saint Louis senior center Ian Vouyoukas (Athens, Greece) and North Carolina sophomore Tyler Hansbrough (Poplar Bluff, Mo.) yielded a pair of double-doubles, but it was ultimately the Tar Heels' efficient shooting from the perimeter that sealed the North Carolina win.

Saint Louis (9-3) jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on layups from Vouyoukas and sophomore guard Kevin Lisch (Belleville, Ill./Althoff). Sophomore guard Tommie Liddell (East St. Louis, Mo.) hit a free throw in the early going as the Billikens held the Tar Heels off the scoreboard until the 16:29 mark.

UNC sophomore forward Tyler Hansbrough put home consecutive buckets in the paint to start the scoring for North Carolina, which missed its first six shots from the field. The Billikens were clinging to the lead through the first seven minutes of the contest until Danny Green buried a 3-pointer at the 12:02 mark to take a 14-12 lead. A couple of free throws from Liddell knotted the game at 14, then Saint Louis went on a 10-4 run to rally out to a six-point lead with five minutes left in the first half. Vouyoukas put in six points during the stretch, and Lisch and junior forward Luke Meyer (Washington, Mo./Borgia) hit jumpers as SLU controlled the momentum at the five-minute mark of the first half.

But the Billikens would score just one more bucket in the final five minutes as UNC took a 27-26 lead into halftime. SLU shot 33 percent from the field in the first frame, bettering the Tar Heels' 29 percent clip. Vouyoukas, who was battling Hansbrough in the post, led all scorers with 10 points at the break.

Liddell drove to the basket for a layup early in the second half to tie the score 28-28, but that is the last time the rest of the game SLU would contend for the lead. Baskets from Brandan Wright and Hansbrough sparked a 13-6 run for the Tar Heels as they pulled away for the first time. Green and Ty Lawson each hit 3-balls in the rally. Another 3-pointer from Green started an 11-0 Carolina run as it pulled out to a 16 point lead with 9:17 remaining.

Despite a couple of fast-break points from junior swingman Danny Brown (Houston, Texas), SLU was unable to gather any momentum down the stretch. Meanwhile, UNC was connecting on a myriad of shots as they nailed 60 percent (15-25) in the second stanza, including 5-of-9 from 3-point land, to cruise to the 21-point win.

Vouyoukas registered his sixth double-double of the year after scoring a team-high 14 points and bringing down 13 boards. Liddell added 13 points for the Billikens, who shot 37 percent from the field but just 1-of-11 from beyond the arc.

Hansbrough threw in a game-high 15 points in leading four Tar Heels in double figures. Green hit 4-of-5 from 3-point land en route to 14 points, and Wright and Lawson each contributed 12 points.

The packed house of 22,539 was the most attended game at Scottrade Center since the Billikens began playing in the facility in 1994. The previous high came in 1998, when Roy Williams' Kansas Jayhawks and SLU played in front of 22,527 fans at Scottrade.

SLU concludes its four-game home stand on Sat., Dec. 30, when it hosts Ole Miss at Scottrade Center. Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m.