Although it spent the majority of the game looking like a group ready to go home for the holidays, the No. 7 UNC men’s basketball team cruised to an easy 94-70 win at the Smith Center on Monday over the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

The Tar Heels go into their winter break with a 10-2 record after the win over the over-matched Mountaineers, who drop to 2-9 with the loss.

UNC vs Appalachian State

Brice Johnson led the Tar Heels with 22 points against Appalachian State. (Photo by Todd Melet)

Senior forward Brice Johnson notched his third straight game with at least 20 points, finishing with 22—including 10 in the game’s first three minutes– after scoring a career-high 27 this past Saturday against UCLA. He also grabbed nine rebounds as Appalachian State—without a single player taller than 6-foot-8–struggled to keep up with the UNC frontline as the game wore on.

“I should have gotten 30 last game, but I missed my free throws,” Johnson said after this one finished. “I just wanted to go out there [tonight] and be aggressive like I was the last two games, and just help my team.

“When I’m aggressive and scoring like that, it opens everything up for everybody else,” he added. “And we’re a better team when I do things like that.”

A scary moment occurred in the first half with 9:16 before the break, as UNC senior point guard Marcus Paige landed awkwardly on his right ankle—the same one he had bone spurs taken out of in the offseason–after blocking a three-point attempt.

Paige was checked out in the locker room and initially returned to the game for the second half, getting his point total up to nine—but decided to check himself out with his team well ahead before any further damage could be done.

“I blocked the shot, then I was gonna jump and save it [from going out of bounds],” Paige said. “But it was just a funny landing for me. The area where I had surgery is sometimes sensitive still.

“So it just kind of jammed that specific part of my ankle,” he continued. “It was kind of painful, then I just couldn’t really loosen it up. So I just shut it down.”

Freshman guard Ronshad Shabazz hit a three-pointer for the Mountaineers on the game’s second possession to put them ahead 3-0, but then Johnson’s scoring explosion led the Tar Heels to a double-digit lead over the next few minutes.

UNC stayed in front by between 10 and 20 points for essentially the entire game, but Shabazz scored 21 to help his team stick around, as they trailed by only 11 at the half.

Appalachian’s top threat, Shabazz’s backcourt-mate Frank Eaves, had only 13 points and shot just 5-of-13 as UNC head coach Roy Williams made sure to cut the head off the snake in his preparations.

“Frank [Eaves] is a load to guard,” Williams said. “I watched a couple of tapes on him and he’s been incredible. But I thought that Marcus, Nate [Britt], and Joel [Berry]—all three really did a nice job on him.

“He was the focus of our defense because he’s averaging 20 a game, and everybody else [on their team] is less than double figures.”

Again Isaiah Hicks provided the Tar Heels with a solid contribution off the bench with Kennedy Meeks sidelined, scoring 12 points to give him four straight games with at least 10.

UNC vs. Appalachian State

Isaiah Hicks slams one home against Appalachian State. (Photo by Todd Melet)

The team also received double-doubles from Justin Jackson, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Joel Berry, who did it by scoring 11 and dishing out 11 assists.

Not until there were just over five minutes to play, though, did UNC comfortably get the lead past 20 points.

Some of that may be chalked up to the fact that the game was played by college kids who could smell the thought of no responsibilities right around the corner—something Johnson alluded to when speaking with reporters.

“It was kind of tough,” the Orangeburg, SC native said. “I was ready to go home. Because last year around this time we played Ohio State [in Brooklyn], then we went straight home. This year we played UCLA [in Brooklyn] and then we had another game, so it was kind of tough.

“By game time—right before the tip-off—I was like ‘OK let’s go, we still have a game to play.’”

While it was by no means the prettiest win his team has put together this season, Williams knows it’ll be enough to keep spirits in the right place over the week-long break before the next game.

“Glad to have a ‘W’,” the coach said. “Glad to do some good things. So everybody can go home and see Santa Claus in a good mood.”

Photos from UNC vs. Appalachian State.

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will be out of action until next Monday, December 28, when they host the UNC-Greensboro Spartans at the Smith Center.

Game Notes:

  • Marcus Paige had nine points and one assist in 17 minutes due to the jammed right ankle. The assist was his 500th, making him the 12th Tar Heel to reach 500 career assists.
  • Appalachian State out-rebounded the Tar Heels, 18-16, and had a 9-5 advantage in second chance points in the first half. In the second half, UNC out-rebounded the Mountaineers, 31-13, and had a 19-6 edge in second-chance points.
  • Johnson tied the all-time UNC record for most consecutive field goals made with 16. He made his last 11 shots from the floor against UCLA and his first five attempts this evening. Brad Daugherty also made 16 in a row over a two-game period against UCLA and Iona to begin the 1985-86 season.

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