The North Carolina men’s basketball team downed Robert Morris 103-59 Sunday evening in the Smith Center to improve to 2-0 on the year.

With the loss, the Colonials dropped to 0-2 overall.

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Brice Johnson led the Tar Heel scoring charge with 23 points, eight rebounds and was closely followed by Kennedy Meeks with 21 points, 12 rebounds. Marcquise Reed  topped the Colonial stat sheet, contributing 22 points to the losing cause.

“We were much more active defensively tonight than we were Friday night. That feels like a long time ago. […] We were more gifted than Robert Morris. I was pleased with our effort. The biggest thing is early in the game, we dominated the boards,” UNC head coach Roy Williams says.

***Listen to Roy Williams’ postgame remarks***

UNC outrebounded Robert Morris 49-31. The Tar Heels imposed their improved physicality on their opponent.

“Kennedy [Meeks] and myself were exploding up there and getting it. That’s one thing Coach has been telling us – explode up there and grab it. We did a good job of keeping it high, going to get the rebound and putting it back up there,” Johnson says.

UNC opened proceedings with focused intent, playing smothering defense and using efficient and balanced offensive play to storm out to a 12-2 lead with 15:50 on the first half clock.

Johnson battles inside (Todd Melet)

Johnson battles inside (Todd Melet)

Freshman Marcquise Reed provided a solid offensive boost for the Colonials, finding space and knocking down shots with ten quick points early.

“It’s great for him. A lot of our guys that are playing their second college game made strides in the right direction. Obviously, Marcquise made some great individual plays in the context of our offense,” Robert Morris head coach Andrew Toole says.

Meeks established himself as the dominant player on the floor, though, dominating inside and accumulating 15 points just 12 minutes into the game.

Meeks finishing at the basket (Todd Melet)

Meeks finishing at the basket (Todd Melet)

 

Carolina continued to distribute the ball well with crisp passing, refusing to settle for anything but high-percentage shots to the delight of Coach Williams.

At the half, the Tar Heels enjoyed a 53-35 advantage.

UNC shot out to another strong start for the final 20 minutes of action, running the floor with ease and going up to the rim with authority. UNC started on a 23-6 run to pull away.

Marcus Paige really got things going as well with seven straight points that provided even more separation for the home team.

Desmond Hubert offered up a monster dunk with a note-worthy leap that had the Dean Dome crowd erupting.

With 11:40 remaining in the game, Carolina had built an 80-43 advantage.

From there, the Tar Heels never looked back and cruised to victory, allowing Coach Williams to play with his lineup and get all his players plenty of meaningful playing time.

Next up for Carolina comes a road game in Charlotte at the Time Warner Cable Arena next Saturday, Nov. 22 against the Davidson Wildcats.

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