North Carolina coach Roy Williams had been impressed with how Luke Maye played during the Tar Heels' recent preseason outings.

The 6-foot-8 junior forward then carried that good work over into the team's season opener on Friday night.

Maye finished with a career-high 26 points and 10 rebounds as No. 9 North Carolina pulled away after a slow start and defeated Northern Iowa 86-69 in the season opener for both schools in Chapel Hill, N.C.

"I've always had confidence in myself," Maye said. "I hit a couple of jumpers. ... I want to put a whole season together. I have a lot to continue to work on."

Maye helped the defending national champions take command in the second half after they led 45-31 at halftime.

"Luke was really good," Williams said. "I think he showed a great deal of leadership out there. He's very confident, and he's been playing well (during preseason)."

The forward made two 3-pointers and another basket, accounting for eight points in an 18-9 run that gave the Tar Heels a 63-40 lead.

Maye made 11 of 16 shots from the field. In fact, the Tar Heels shot well all night long, making 50 percent.

They needed the help from Maye because they were missing two starters with injuries. Maye and others gave the Tar Heels a boost.

In addition, they dominated the smaller Northern Iowa team in the paint, scoring 36 points in the lane as the Panthers simply could not stop them at times.

North Carolina also got offensive help from freshman forward Garrison Brooks (14 points) and junior guard Kenny Williams (10 points).

The Tar Heels made 18 of 21 free throws and finished with 20 assists on 31 baskets. They moved the ball well and eventually found open shots.

"All in all, we did some good things," Williams said. "There's a lot of things to like and a lot of things we can work on."

Northern Iowa, which now has lost in North Carolina for the past two seasons, was led by sophomore guard Spencer Haldeman's 15 points. Sophomore guard Isaiah Brown chipped in 13.

This game stayed close in the early minutes as North Carolina held a 22-18 lead before going on a 13-2 run en route to the 14-point halftime lead.

"There were some positives in the first 15 minutes," Northern Iowa coach Ben Jacobson told the school's radio broadcast. "There were some things that we worked on a lot that we didn't take care of which would have put us in a nice position going into the half."

Brown agreed with his coach, saying the Panthers were competitive for a good part of the first half before the Tar Heels went on that run.

"I felt like we played pretty good (early)," Brown said. "The energy was up, the communication was (good). I think we played a very good first half. We competed very hard, and we were in the game."

NOTES: North Carolina G Joel Berry did not play, out with a broken bone in his right hand suffered in preseason. He was the Most Outstanding Player in last spring's Final Four. ... The Tar Heels went 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the first half. ... North Carolina senior guard Cameron Robinson (neck) also did not play, but coach Roy Williams said he should be back shortly. ... Northern Iowa was picked to finish second in the preseason Missouri Valley Conference poll.