R.J. Davis scored 16 points and No. 14 North Carolina ran away from UNLV for a 78-51 rout, despite a horrendous opening stretch on the first day of the relocated Maui Invitational on Monday night in Asheville, N.C.

UNLV scored the game's first 13 points, but the Tar Heels caught up at 27-27 and dominated most of the rest of the way.

North Carolina (2-0) will face Stanford on Tuesday afternoon. Stanford defeated Alabama 82-64 in the second game on Monday. UNLV will take on Alabama in a consolation round game Tuesday night.

Garrison Brooks posted 14 points and Armando Bacot had 12 points for North Carolina. Andrew Platek added 11 points off the bench, one of six reserves to score for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina held a 54-35 rebounding edge, led by guard Leaky Black's 10 boards.

Bryce Hamilton's 15 points and Caleb Grill's 10 points paced UNLV (0-2).

North Carolina's lead was 37-30 at halftime.

The Runnin' Rebels managed only nine points across the first 15 1/2 minutes of the second half. That was a carryover from the first half when they had just one field goal in the final 4:50.

UNLV finished at 29 percent (18-for-62) from the field. Hamilton was 7 of 19.

North Carolina took its first lead in the game with 3:24 to play in the first half on Davis' layup.

The Tar Heels finished 21-for-32 on free throws compared to UNLV's 7-for-15 mark on foul shots.

Brooks, a senior forward, eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his career (now with 1,011). Seventy-seven North Carolina players all time have scored 1,000 or more points, the most for any school in the country.

The Tar Heels improved to 21-3 all time in Maui Invitational games.

The Maui Invitational was relocated to this western North Carolina city because of the coronavirus pandemic.

--Field Level Media