Tar Heels use big run to topple Elon 100-62

A dominant first half that featured an imposing run helped North Carolina build an insurmountable lead on Elon, as the Tar Heels eased to a 100-62 victory Thursday.

UNC used a 23-0 first-half run to seize control from the Phoenix early in the contest.

The Tar Heels held Elon scoreless on 0-14 shooting for more than eight minutes during the run. Six different Tar Heels scored in that span as UNC entered halftime with a season-high 34-point lead.

“Everybody was ready to play tonight,” Dexter Strickland said. “We just executed what coach wanted. Everybody knew their role and did their job.”

Elon shot just 20.5 percent and 13.3 percent from three in the first half, something point guard Kendall Marshall said was a result of UNC’s defensive focus returning from the holiday break.

“Coach was just focused on getting better, and he’s really put an emphasis on the defensive end,” Marshall said. “Defensively, if we can get stops, we can execute on offense much easier, and we’ll be able to get out and run and get a lot of easy buckets.”

Elon’s 14 turnovers and UNC’s high-pressure defense allowed the Tar Heels to get 24 points off turnovers and 12 fast break points.
Many of those fast breaks led to dunks, primarily by John Henson, who had seven of them.

The Tar Heels finished the game with 13 dunks, indicative of both UNC’s size advantage and a concerted effort to finish stronger above the rim.

“Definitely finishing stronger at the basket is something more important just because last year in ACC play, it was so physical in the paint, so it helps to finish above the rim,” Harrison Barnes said. “I tried to do that tonight, always being cognizant of avoiding the charge.”

A driving reverse dunk and a thunderous one-handed slam by Barnes, as well as a hand-behind-the-head slam by Henson, were just a few of the highlight plays that kept the Tar Heels energized throughout the blowout.

Henson reached a double-double in the first half, and finished the game with 16 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in just 16 minutes.
UNC capitalized on its size advantage from the beginning. Each of UNC’s first 13 shots came from within the charge circle.

The Tar Heels out-rebounded Elon, who has just one player over 6’8”, 64-35 and corralled 24 offensive rebounds. Tyler Zeller had a career-high nine offensive rebounds and chipped in 19 points of his own. Zeller also finished with a double-double, bringing in a total of 13 rebounds.

“Our whole team has been working harder on the backboards,” coach Roy Williams said. “That’s a big margin tonight, and it should have been because we have a lot more size.”

Barnes, who was battling a stomach bug, scored 18 points and had a career-high five assists to zero turnovers. Strickland also scored in double figures with 10 points.

UNC pushed its lead to as much as 50 in the second half, and Williams pulled the starters with just more than eight minutes remaining.

Ten different Tar Heels played more than 10 minutes, none of which played more than 25.

Williams said that he likes to schedule some out-of-conference games that will challenge his team, such as Kentucky and Texas, but others that allow him to distribute minutes more evenly.

“It’s important for us to have PJ, Reggie, James Michael, Justin Watts — those guys who are going to have to step up and play at some point, you can’t have them sitting over there playing five minutes a game,” Williams said. “Game experience, I think, is always extremely important.”

UNC tied the Smith Center record for most consecutive wins at home. A victory against Monmouth on Sunday would give the Tar Heels the record-setting 26th straight win.