The UNC men’s basketball team got back on track when it comes to winning ACC openers, crushing the Clemson Tigers 74-50 Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The No. 19 Tar Heels, who dropped their last two such contests, bolstered that otherwise impressive mark to 51-11. More importantly, they won their fifth straight tilt of the season in improving to 11-3 overall, 1-0 ACC.

Both teams started slowly, with the Tar Heels leading just 7-5 five minutes in on the strength of baskets from three different players. J.P. Tokoto led the way with a jumper and free throw.

Roy Williams addresses his team (Todd Melet)

Roy Williams addresses his team (Todd Melet)

UNC led just 11-7 eight minutes in when Landry Nnoko drilled a pair of free throws for the Tigers (8-5, 0-1).

Brice Johnson’s dunk, off a terrific feed from Tokoto, put the Tar Heels up 13-7 at the 10:12 mark and seemed to spark UNC. The Heels enjoyed a 28-10 scoring run before intermission to essentially pull away for good.

Marcus Paige, who has struggled with his shot at times this season, found his rhythm in Clemson in draining three of his first four three pointers. Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson also excelled, while Justin Jackson scored nine straight points during one scintillating stretch.

Jackson led UNC with 13 points, while Meeks had 12 and Paige chipped in with 11. Meeks also dominated the boards with 12 rebounds, including five on the offensive end.

Clemson’s offense struggled mightily in the first half, due in part to a strong effort by hard-charging Tar Heel defenders. The Tigers connected on just 5 of 28 field goal attempts for a paltry 17.9 success rate.

Damarcus Harrison and Donte Grantham netted six points each in the opening 20 minutes, though the latter was 0 for 4 in three-point attempts. He wasn’t alone, as the Tigers launched 14 trey attempts with only Harrison hitting his pair.

Clemson’s bench provided little help, with Jordan Roper scoring the lone point on a free throw attempt.

Marcus Paige jumps over a Tiger defender (Todd Melet)

Marcus Paige jumps over a Tiger defender (Todd Melet)

Jaron Blossomgame led Clemson with 13 points, while Harrison was the only other Tiger to reach double-figures with 11.

Roy Williams’ troops didn’t let up after the break, with a Jackson jumper and Johnson dunk coming in the opening 90 seconds for a 43-19 advantage.

Paige continued to glide on the court, hitting a three-pointer and a running jumper as the Heels extended their lead to 54-26 with a dozen minutes remaining.

Isaiah Hicks put an exclamation mark on the Tar Heels impressive win with an emphatic dunk with 10 minutes remaining.

With huge advantages in both rebounds (49-30) and assists (20-6) and just six turnovers committed, even the hard-driving Williams had to be satisfied with the Heels on this night.

The timing for a crisp performance was ideal, with the Tar Heels facing Notre Dame on Monday night and Louisville on Saturday afternoon. Both games are at the Smith Center.

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