Through 30 minutes of fast-paced play, the No. 7 North Carolina men's basketball team trails No. 6 Kentucky, 56-51, in the CBS Sports Classic at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Here is what to know from the first-half action.
Malik Monk thrives
The first half was the Malik Monk show, and the Tar Heels could only watch.
The first-year shooting guard led the Wildcats with 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting, pulling up at will against a reeling UNC defense. The five-star recruit was Kentucky's only 3-point threat in the opening period — going 4-for-8 from behind the line — but the Tar Heels had no answer for Monk, a likely lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Joel Berry returns
After missing two contests with a sprained left ankle, point guard Joel Berry has kept the Tar Heels alive in the first half.
The junior's first field-goal attempt of the game was viciously swatted away by Kentucky's Wenyen Gabriel, and he scored just one bucket in nearly the first seven minutes of the game.
But Berry eventually found his stride, finishing the first half with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Aided by Justin Jackson's 20 points — eight of which came at the free-throw line — the Tar Heels' top two scorers are bearing the burden of outdueling Monk's monster outing.
