Exploiting a major size and talent advantage over Division II Chaminade in its Maui Invitational Quarterfinal game on Monday, the No. 4 UNC men’s basketball team stayed in the winner’s bracket by defeating the Silverswords 104-61.
Turnover issues kept the Tar Heels (5-0) from pulling away early, but head coach Roy Williams sent a message by inserting little-used guard Stilman White midway through the opening period.
Freshman center Tony Bradley scored a career-high 14 points against Chaminade, as he reached double figures for the fifth straight game to begin his career.
White–who did tie a career-high with four points–didn’t have much of an impact on the final stat sheet, but his presence on the floor was a reminder that as long as UNC took care of the ball and got it inside to its big men, good things would happen.
Senior forward Kennedy Meeks scored a season-high 20 points–including eight straight late in the first half to help the Tar Heels shake the hometown underdogs–while grabbing ten rebounds and making all seven of his shots.
He was joined by his fellow senior up front, Isaiah Hicks, who led all players in the game with 22 points–also a season-high.
Freshman center Tony Bradley scored a career-high 14 points while wing Justin Jackson added 12 points while again performing spot duty at the power forward spot due to Luke Maye’s sprained ankle.
The four players used by the Tar Heels in the frontcourt were the only ones to reach double figures in scoring, as they found a game plan that worked and stuck to it–shooting 58 percent in the process.
As a team, UNC also rebounded the Silverswords by a margin of 52-23–taking advantage of an opponent that didn’t start a single player taller than 6-foot-7.
Rohndell Goodwin led the home team with 18 points, but it wouldn’t be nearly enough to challenge an experienced Tar Heel squad loaded with talent.
Up Next:
The Tar Heels move on to face the Oklahoma State in the Semifinals on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. The Cowboys (4-0) are coming off a 98-90 win over Connecticut in their Quarterfinal matchup on Monday.
Game Notes:
- Chaminade scored 30 of its 61 points on the strength of 10 three-pointers
- The Tar Heels used their size to score 26 second-chance points on 17 offensive rebounds.
- After scoring over 20 points in each of UNC’s first three games, point guard Joel Berry (eight points, four rebounds, four assists) was again held under double figures after scoring just two points against Hawaii on Saturday.
- The trio of Meeks, Hicks and Bradley combined to shoot 20-for-26 from the field.
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