No. 9 UNC men's basketball overcomes Elon's late-game push, 90-76, in season opener

In the season opener, No. 9 North Carolina (1-0) conquered Elon (0-1), 90-76, at the Dean E. Smith Center on Monday night. The Tar Heels overcame a late-game push by the Phoenix to take the lead in the final seven minutes.  

All-American graduate guard RJ Davis suffered from offensive inefficiency until the seven-minute mark of the second half, connecting on 3-of-13 shots from the field before coming up big in crunch time. He finished with 24 points. Sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau and junior guard Seth Trimble combined for 32 points. 

"I'm a little mad at the second half that we had," Trimble said. "I give us some grace. We're a young team. It's our first game together. I'm not going to say it's OK, but I'll give a little bit of grace for ourselves. It was kind of a careless second half."

The Tar Heels exchanged points with the Phoenix in the opening minutes of the first half, but UNC nudged ahead as Davis, Cadeau and Trimble knocked down a trio of 3-pointers. By the first media timeout, North Carolina led, 15-14. 

In the five minutes following the break, UNC's offense stagnated, only scoring two points. With 13:32 remaining in the half, Davis drew defenders to the left side before connecting with junior forward Ven-Allen Lubin for a two-handed dunk. Meanwhile, Elon took a two-point lead.

At the 11 minute mark, first-year forward Drake Powell broke open a scoring run, knocking down a shot from beyond the arc and a fast break layup in two consecutive possessions. A minute later, Powell grabbed a tipped ball near mid-court, finding Trimble for a fast break alley-oop. North Carolina led 26-19. 

Following a string of missed baskets from the Phoenix, UNC went on a 6-0 run to take a 32-21 lead, capped off by graduate forward Jae'Lyn Withers' 3-pointer from the left wing. Withers exploded, collecting a lob from Cadeau for a basket-shaking dunk followed by another three to score his tenth point. The graduate forward took the lead of North Carolina's scoring effort.

Then, first-guard Ian Jackson found his groove. Finishing on another Cadeau lob, Davis found Jackson on the wing for a wide-open three to push the Tar Heels ahead, 42-26. 

Two minutes before the end of the first half, Elon closed in on North Carolina, executing a 13-2 scoring run over a three minute period to bring the score to 44-39, loosening UNC's former 16-point lead. Both teams totaled seven missed shots over the next minute, as the Tar Heels failed to finish around the basket and attempted dunks went wild.

Still, a series of free throws allowed UNC to push ahead 51-39 by halftime.

At the break, Trimble led the Tar Heels in scoring with 12 points, shooting 5-of-7 from the field. 

In the first eight minutes of the second half, Davis struggled to connect from beyond the arc, shooting 0-for-4 from three.  

But coming out of halftime, junior forward Jalen Washington came to life. Washington scored six of North Carolina's eight opening points. On his third look, Trimble found Washington charging through the lane for a fast break dunk. Washington roared as his feet touched back on the ground, giving the Tar Heels a 59-47 advantage. 

Elon kept the game within ten points by the 10-minute timeout, connecting on 6-of-10 from the field. UNC's efficiency staggered behind, as the Tar Heels shot 35 percent. Davis at the free throw line produced most of North Carolina's points. 

After a four-minute scoring drought brought the score within three, 69-66, in the final seven minutes, Elon's Nick Dorn knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing to tie it. UNC turned it over on its next possession, but a foul by Withers sent the Phoenix to the line to take a 71-69 lead. 

"We talked about in the huddle, 'How are you gonna respond?'" head coach Hubert Davis said. "This is actually the perfect game and a perfect situation to be in because this will help us grow. This will help us get to be the team that we wanna become."

Davis erupted. Rebounding from his 3-of-13 shooting performance, he ended the drought with a jumper and shot from deep to take back control, 74-71. 

With Davis igniting an 11-0 run, Cadeau put Elon's late-game burst to bed with his own 3-pointer from the wing. With five minutes remaining, he drew a flagrant one on his way to the basket following a hard foul, and shot 1-for-2 at the line to keep North Carolina ahead, 78-71.   

The reigning ACC Player of the Year propelled the Tar Heels to outscore the Phoenix 21-5 in the final six minutes, knocking down contested shots from every level to solidify UNC's lead. 

"It's what he does," Washington said.

The Tar Heels will travel to Lawrence, Kan. to take on No. 1 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Friday at 7 p.m.

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