No. 19 North Carolina 84, North Carolina-Wilmington 51: James Michael McAdoo finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds as the host Tar Heels closed out their nonconference schedule with a convincing victory over the Seahawks.
Marcus Paige scored 15 points while Leslie McDonald and Brice Johnson added 14 apiece for North Carolina (10-3), which joined Kentucky and Kansas as the only programs to reach 2,100 wins. The Tar Heels, who have won three straight by double figures since a home loss to Texas, will begin ACC play at Wake Forest on Sunday.
Cedrick Williams led the way with 18 points and nine boards for UNC-Wilmington (6-9), which has lost four straight. The Seahawks shot 31.1 percent from the field and 17.6 percent beyond the arc – the fifth time they have shot at least that poorly from the 3-point line this season.
North Carolina led wire-to-wire and established an 18-9 advantage with under eight minutes left in the first half behind six straight points from McAdoo and McDonald after UNC-Wilmington had pulled within three. Johnson’s three-point play with 1:36 to go before the break increased the bulge to 15 before the Seahawks scored seven straight to close the half.
The Tar Heels came out of the break with a 16-4 burst to stretch the margin to 47-27 on a jumper by Paige and began to pull away following back-to-back high-flying dunks from J.P. Tokoto and McAdoo. Johnson scored seven consecutive points late as the lead swelled to as much as 33 on four occasions, including the final margin.
GAME NOTEBOOK: North Carolina shot 62.9 percent from the field in the second half. … UNC-Wilmington coach Buzz Peterson fell to 0-5 all-time against his alma mater. … The Tar Heels improved to 3-0 all-time against the Seahawks and have won those contests by an average of 23 points.
NC-Wilmington | North Carolina | |
Cedrick Williams 18 | Scoring | James Michael McAdoo 23 |
Ben Eblen 4 | Assists | Nate Britt 6 |
Cedrick Williams 9 | Rebounds | James Michael McAdoo 10 |
Chris Dixon 5 | Free Throws Made | Marcus Paige 4 |
Chris Dixon 2 | Steals | James Michael McAdoo 3 |
Ben Eblen 1 | Blocks | Brice Johnson 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
NC-Wilmington | 51 | 31.1 | 3-17 | 10-13 | 9 | 27 | 3 | 11 | 17 |
North Carolina | 84 | 52.3 | 3-9 | 13-17 | 20 | 45 | 3 | 12 | 16 |