BY BRIANA GORMAN

bgorman@heraldsun.com; 419-6668

CHAPEL HILL -- The mood in the North Carolina locker room was palpable after Tuesday's 77-63 win over N.C. State that stopped the Tar Heels' three-game losing streak.

For the first time in three games, instead of silence and tension there were smiles, laughter and joking around by the Tar Heels.

And no player looked happier than Deon Thompson.

The senior, who seemingly has disappeared from games this season, made his presence known from the start, scoring UNC's first three points and leading the Tar Heels with 20 points. It was the fifth time Thompson has scored at least 20 points this season but the first since posting 23 in a win over Nevada on Nov. 29.

"I've been more aggressive in practice and just more determined, more into it and intent," Thompson said. "As a leader, you've got to be intent and enthused about things, and I'm just trying to be a better leader."

Thompson's aggressiveness was evident in the first half as he grabbed two rebounds, his only offensive rebounds of the game, after missed free throws and muscled them in for four of his nine first-half points.

But arguably Thompson's most significant field goal came in the second half.

With 10:09 left, he picked off a pass at midcourt and instead of handing it off to one of UNC's guards, the 6-9, 245-pound forward dribbled it up the court himself. Thompson took the ball all the way to the basket for a crowd-silencing dunk to cap a 13-0 run that put the Tar Heels up for good.

"I was just happy," said Thompson, who let out a ferocious yell after the dunk. "It was definitely kind of a turning point in the game for us."

Thompson finished the game 9-of-14 from the floor, the most shots he has attempted since a win over Albany on Dec. 30. Thompson had been a combined 11-of-22 in losses to Clemson, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.

But Thompson's impact was not just felt on the statistics sheet. The senior could be seen cheering on his teammates, offering a fist bump and seemed to energize the Tar Heels.

"Deon had a great game tonight," Drew said. "He was doing everything that we know Deon can do. He was posting low, [getting] offensive rebounds, finishing in the paint, making stops on the defensive end. He just had a very solid all-around game."

Despite Thompson's big night to help the Tar Heels break their slump, after the game he mostly wanted to talk about the team effort and less about his individual performance.

"I'm more happy with the team performance," Thompson said. "The way Larry played [Tuesday] and Dexter [Strickland] and John [Henson] -- everybody who came into the game [Tuesday] contributed something big.

"It's been a long stretch for us in practice, so to come here and for us to perform the way we did [Tuesday] was just a great feeling."

Drew and Strickland both finished in double figures, and Henson recorded three blocks in seven minutes.

"We just knew that we had to come here and we had to win," Drew said. "Nobody thought about losing, nobody thought about the consequences afterwards.

"We just knew if we went in and played hard like we know how to play, we were going to come out victorious."