UNC men’s basketball routes Campbell, 97-81, in non-conference finale

The UNC men’s basketball team (8-5) defeated Campbell (5-8), 97-81, in the Dean E. Smith Center on Sunday night.

The Tar Heels dominated the Camels. With the help of graduate guard RJ Davis’ season-high 23 points and five three-pointers, North Carolina pulled away early in the second half and never looked back. With junior guard Seth Trimble not playing due to an upper-body injury, first-year guard Ian Jackson made his first start this season and made a statement with his career-high and team-leading 26 points. 

“I feel like the last three games [RJ's] finding his rhythm,” head coach Hubert Davis said. “He really is. With a new lineup and changing lineup too. I think one of the things that helps is just the growth of Ian. He’s got another scorer out there.”

UNC started strong with sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau bouncing the ball to junior forward Jalen Washington in the paint. Washington slammed in the jumper. 

Campbell responded to the momentum and the Tar Heels found themselves down 5-4. A 3-pointer from Davis gave UNC the 7-5 lead. 

About a minute later, Davis sunk another three from the right corner for his 300th career 3-pointer to pass Marcus Paige for the most 3-pointers in North Carolina history.

“Where I felt like myself again was Florida,” Davis said. “I kind of felt myself coming back into kind of the old vintage RJ.”

Despite being tied at nine, UNC’s offense and defense did not falter. With points by Cadeau, Davis and Jackson, the team had extended its lead to 10. 

Back-to-back threes by Colby Duggan reduced the lead to just four, but the efforts of Jackson and first-year guard Drake Powell extended it back to eight, which the Tar Heels held onto for several minutes. 

With the shot clock under 10, Cadeau made a pass similar to the one that opened the game, only this time it was to junior forward Ven-Allen Lubin who smashed in the dunk to put UNC up 34-24. 

After almost three minutes of both teams missing baskets and rebounds, the Camels broke the scoring drought with a layup by Cam Gregory. The Tar Heels responded with a three-pointer from Powell from the left corner.

North Carolina closed the first half with a Cadeau to Washington layup and went into the locker room leading 40-29. In the first half, UNC was shooting 52 percent but only 24 percent from the three-point line. 

The second half opened how the first closed: with Cadeau connecting with Washington who slammed in the dunk. This play ignited a spark in UNC’s offense as it scored 11 points in just two minutes and extended the lead to 16. 

With a comfortable lead, graduate forward Ty Claude was subbed in and made a two-pointer off an assist by Davis. A couple of plays later, Davis nailed another from the arc and pushed North Carolina’s lead to 20. 

UNC utilized all of its players against Campbell, with Washington, Powell, Jackson, Davis, junior forward Cade Tyson and graduate forward Jae’Lyn Withers all posting points to help extend the lead to 29. 

With a little over two and a half minutes left, Cadeau lobbed the ball to Jackson underneath the basket. Jackson floated the ball in the net to pass his previous career-high 24 points. 

“It was cool,” Jackson said. “The win was most important for me, but it was great.”

On the next possession, the exact same play was called as first-year forward James Brown dunked the ball and gave Cadeau his career-high 12 assists and first career double-double. 

“I was really happy for him,” Hubert Davis said. “Just his ability to create and find instinctively teammates is elite. I felt like he played really well today.”

The Tar Heels will be back in action at Louisville on Wednesday at 6 p.m.

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