The No. 19 North Carolina men’s basketball team easily dispatched William & Mary 86-64 Tuesday evening inside the Smith Center to improve to a 10-3 mark overall.

***Listen to the story***

With the loss, the Tribe, coached by former Tar Heel Tony Shaver, dropped to 6-5 on the season.

Once again, Carolina used a ruthlessly efficient offense and balanced scoring to overwhelm an overmatched opponent. The Tar Heels started on a torrid pace, shooting at a 66-percent clip as a team in the first half to speed away from the turnover-prone Tribe.

Roy Williams tosses his jacket in disgust (Todd Melet)

Roy Williams tosses his jacket in disgust (Todd Melet)

One of the more memorable portions of the game came midway through the second half, when Roy Williams was given a controversial technical foul. In response, Coach Williams threw off his jacket in disgust, and the Dean Dome crowd voiced its full support for the Hall of Famer.

“I was yelling at Theo [Pinson]. I was yelling at Theo, saying ‘call timeout.’ And he’s pointing at me like ‘I can’t call a timeout.’ I didn’t think I was dealt with fairly, but that’s all right. Those guys have a hard, hard jod,” Coach Williams says.

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

Junior forward JP Tokoto was the best player on the floor on this night, leading the Tar Heel scoring charge with 19 points. But Tokoto still sees room for improvement from the team.

“We can be great. We just have to be consistent. That was the problem last year when we started off ACC play going 0-3. After that, we had a couple guys who took the team by the reins and showed everybody that this is how we have to play. We are looking to do the same thing, but quicker,” Tokoto says.

Senior Marcus Thornton and sophomore Daniel Dixon tag-teamed to lead the Tribe attack with 17 and 20 points respectively, but it wasn’t enough to threaten an in-form Carolina team.

Dixon takes on Tokoto (Todd Melet)

Dixon takes on Tokoto (Todd Melet)

“We got beat by a superior team, there’s no question about that. I felt like they are playing at a high level right now. Extremely proud of how we competed tonight. I thought that after such a horrendous start for us, to dig the hole that we dug, [it was] very difficult to get back in the game in a place like Carolina,” W&M Coach Shaver says.

***Click here for the full game photo gallery***

The Tar Heels sped out to a lightning quick 10-2 lead behind efficient passing, quick ball movement and a commitment to working the ball inside.

Brice Johnson made his presence felt inside and freshman Theo Pinson took advantage of more early minutes with some big plays, including a lunging steal that led to a breakaway dunk on the other end.

But it was JP Tokoto who impressed the most, darting inside to the basket with trademark sinewy athleticism and knocking down jumpers with ease.

With 10:33 to play in the first half, Carolina had built a commanding 25-10 cushion. The Tribe were finding it tough to hold onto the ball, committing six early turnovers.

Coach Williams was mixing around his lineup with frequency in the final tune-up before ACC play begins Saturday at Clemson. He could do no wrong. Every Tar Heel was in a groove.

At intermission, Carolina boasted a dominant 49-27 advantage, shooting at a sharp 66-percent clip as a team from the floor.

Marcus Paige negotiates the Tribe defense (Todd Melet)

Marcus Paige negotiates the Tribe defense (Todd Melet)

UNC got off to a rather sluggish start out of the locker room with a Tokoto three-pointer the only Carolina points in the opening three minutes of play.

The Tribe didn’t pack it in, continuing to fight to maintain respectability, even closing to within 10 points with 6:44 to play in the second half.

From there, the Tar Heels coasted to the final buzzer.

Carolina opens up its ACC campaign on the road at Clemson Saturday night at 8:15 p.m.

FINAL BOX SCORE