CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Not even two months into the season, top-ranked North Carolina has already seen its All-America center suffer a concussion and its speedy point guard sprain an ankle that sidelined him nearly two games.
Now the Tar Heels are going to have to play without a key contributor just before the rugged Atlantic Coast Conference schedule begins.
Junior guard Bobby Frasor tore his left anterior cruciate ligament in the second half of the Tar Heels' 106-70 victory over Nevada on Thursday night.
Frasor was injured when his leg gave way while he was trying to make a steal near the sideline with 9:47 to play. He immediately clutched his knee when he went down before limping to the locker room. The injury will require surgery.
The Tar Heels (12-0) have lost a versatile veteran who can play either guard position and provides defense and leadership off the bench.
"He can handle this," an emotional coach Roy Williams said of Frasor's injury. "It's not going to be easy. It's not easy for any of us right now. I told the team it should put things in perspective that every day you don't take things for granted."
Frasor's absence could mean longer stretches for Ty Lawson, the sophomore guard who directs North Carolina's fast-paced attack. Senior Quentin Thomas, a rookie on the Tar Heels' national championship team in 2005, will likely see more minutes.
Tyler Hansbrough scored 26 points and Wayne Ellington added a career-high 23 in the win over the Wolf Pack (7-5).
North Carolina has cruised through the toughest part of its nonconference schedule despite fighting through some key injuries. In a November win against BYU, Lawson sprained his right ankle just 2 minutes in and sat out the following game at Ohio State as Frasor took over the point. Less than two weeks ago, Hansbrough suffered a concussion against Rutgers.
The Tar Heels play Valparaiso on Sunday and Kent State on Jan. 2, then open the ACC season at No. 21 Clemson on Jan. 6.
"Bobby has been here three years now and he's been through it all," Thomas said. "You can't replace that as an individual. The only thing that can replace that is the team picking up its intensity."
The injury overshadowed another solid performance from the Tar Heels, who ran off 19 straight points spanning halftime and cracked the 100-point mark for the fifth time this season. North Carolina is off to its best start since winning 17 straight to open the 1997-98 season.
Lawson had 16 points and turned in a terrific all-around floor game — which included career highs of 10 assists and five steals — while the Tar Heels shot 54 percent for the game, including 9-for-18 on 3-pointers. North Carolina had a 45-33 rebounding advantage against the Wolf Pack (7-5), leading to 22 second-chance points.
Ellington didn't start for the first time this season after travel problems forced him to miss his flight back from Philadelphia and kept him out of Wednesday's practice. He finished 8-for-12 from the field, including 5-for-8 from 3-point range.
Armon Johnson scored a career-high 23 points to lead Nevada, which had won five straight games and hung close with the Tar Heels until late in the first half.
"We lost to a great team, but we need to grow up," Nevada coach Mark Fox said. "There's no shame in losing to Carolina, but we didn't play our best basketball and you have to give Carolina credit for causing that."
