UNC powers past Seahawks in final non-conference game

Don’t expect Roy Williams to be out at midnight.

The North Carolina coach said after Tuesday night’s 84-51 win against UNC-Wilmington that he’s more excited about his grandson’s fourth birthday Wednesday than New Year’s Eve festivities.

As for his basketball team, Tuesday marked much more than the last day of 2013. It also spelled the end of non-conference play. The 2014 ACC season is on the horizon — starting Sunday at Wake Forest — and with a sluggish first half against the Seahawks, UNC (10-3) nearly dropped the ball early.

The Tar Heels’ scramble defense proved ineffective in the first half, creating open shots for the opposition. UNC turned the ball over nine times, was outrebounded on the offensive glass and showed poor shot selection, Williams said. The Tar Heels held a 31-23 halftime lead, but they were aided by a UNC-W team that missed its first 13 field goals and shot 25 percent for the half.

“We talked about that at great length at halftime,” Williams said, “about being more unselfish and getting a better shot and playing harder and doing a better job defensively.”

And after that halftime talk, UNC’s New Year’s fun began.

Powered by a series of explosive fast breaks, the Tar Heels opened the half on a 12-2 run and went on to outscore UNC-W 53-28 on 63-percent shooting.

They scored 23 of those points in the fast break and dunked eight times — putting on a show for the students wearing 2014 glasses and New Year’s hats and the fans who came for what the team called a “Happy Blue Year.”

“It’s fun, man, when you see your teammates flying and running the wings and dunking and stuff … I was trying to get in on the action,” said sophomore Marcus Paige, who scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half.

“That’s when we’re at our best, obviously. We have the athletes, and we have the talent to make the transition game our best style of play.”

Junior forward James Michael McAdoo was in the middle of most of that action for UNC, leading all players with 23 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

He dunked four times himself, leading the break at one point with an acrobatic alley-oop to J.P. Tokoto.

“J.P. definitely, he had the highlight of the day, in just finishing that dunk,” McAdoo said. “He took off from so far out, and to capitalize on the dunk, I was excited.”

But on the eve of ACC play, McAdoo knows to temper that excitement. The Tar Heels still have their fair share of questions. They’ve beaten Michigan State, Louisville and Kentucky, but they’ve also started off slowly — or lost — against teams they were projected to beat handily.

“We can be really good, but when we don’t show up to play, we can lose to anybody,” McAdoo said. “I think that’s definitely something that the ACC is going to be a test for us.

“It definitely feels good after a win like this, but we know after this there’s no cupcake games … so we have to be focused. And that starts tomorrow.”