No. 14 UNC men's basketball bounces back from road loss with 97-69 home win over UNCW

It was not the reunion former North Carolina men's basketball assistant coach C.B. McGrath had in mind Wednesday night.

No. 14 UNC (7-2) defeated McGrath and UNCW (4-6) at the Smith Center, 97-69, to bounce back from an 84-67 road loss to No. 5 Michigan last Wednesday. 

A 30-3 run in the second half paced the Tar Heels as graduate guard Cameron Johnson led the way with 21 points on the night.

What happened?

UNC senior forward Luke Maye got things started with a turn around jumper on UNC's first possession. On the team's second possession, Maye again received the ball in the post, but kicked it out to senior guard Kenny Williams for a made 3-pointer.

Sophomore forward Garrison Brooks added to North Carolina's lead with a layup to give the team a 7-0 run to start the contest.

The Seahawks responded right back, scoring four consecutive points to cut the lead to 7-4 with 15:51 remaining in the first half.

UNC extended its lead to 13-6 after Maye grabbed two offensive rebounds on the same possession and found Williams on a cut to the basket for a layup. 

First-year forward Nassir Little scored four consecutive points for UNC, including a tough turn around shot from right outside the lane to make it an 18-9 game, but the Seahawks responded with a 3-pointer. 

Maye answered right back with a layup to give the forward six points and give his team a 20-12 lead at the 11:33 mark. On the play, Williams picked up his fourth assist of the night.

After Little slammed down his second dunk of the night, the Seahawks responded with a 9-0 run to take a 24-22 lead over UNC.

Graduate forward Cameron Johnson made his presence felt with his first 3-pointer of the night to give North Carolina the lead right back at 25-24.

Johnson's 3-pointer was part of a 10-0 run, as sophomore forward Sterling Manley added a dunk, sophomore guard Andrew Platek hit a 3-pointer and Maye hit a short bank shot. The run gave UNC a 32-24 advantage.

Maye picked up his fourth assist of the night as Johnson hit a 3-pointer from a few feet beyond the arc to extend the lead to nine points with 4:22 left in the half.

With 2:30 left in the half, Williams hit a baseline jumper to extend UNC's lead to 10 points at 41-31. The bucket gave Williams seven points on the night to go with his five assists. 

Right before halftime, Johnson hit his third 3-pointer of the contest to give UNC a 44-35 lead at the intermission. He led all scorers at the break with 13 points.

The Tar Heels came out of the break to outscore UNCW, 8-6, before the first media timeout. Junior guard Seventh Woods started to heat up with six points during that span. 

Out of the media timeout, Woods made a free throw and Williams stole a pass at half court, drove down the lane and converted a layup to extend UNC's largest lead of the night to 14 points.

The lead quickly grew to 21 points after five quick points from Johnson. 

UNC's lead grew to 29 points with 9:54 to go after Johnson hit a floater and converted a free-throw for the three-point play. The basket and shot from the charity strike gave him 21 points on the night.

A Luke Maye 3-pointer quickly followed as UNC went on a 30-3 run over the Seahawks.

With just 5:43 to go in the game, head coach Roy Williams took four of his starters out for good. Only Brooks remained on the court as UNC held a 27-point advantage.

North Carolina won comfortably, 97-69.

Who stood out?

Johnson led the way with 21 points on the night. He was one of four Tar Heels in double figures along with Little (14 points), Kenny Williams (11 points) and Maye (11 points).

Woods finished with seven points and three assists on the night in his first start of the season.

When was it decided?

At the first media timeout of the second half, UNC had a 52-41 edge. The Tar Heels didn't let the lead get down to single digits again for the rest of the night.

Why does it matter?

After losing to Michigan last Wednesday, Roy Williams certainly wanted his team to win against an inferior opponent back in Chapel Hill.

UNC did just that — without point guard Coby White — to pick up its seventh win of the season.

When do they play next?

UNC has a 10-day break before facing No. 1 Gonzaga at the Smith Center at 7 p.m. on Dec. 15.

@christrenkle2

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