UNC Shakes Off Slow Start, Beats Temple 91-67 to Open 2015-16

It took a little while for them to shake off the preseason cobwebs on Friday night, but when they did, the No. 1 ranked Tar Heels cruised to a 91-67 victory over the gritty Temple Owls in the Veterans Classic Basketball Tournament held at the United States Naval Academy.

A career-high 25 points from junior forward Kennedy Meeks–who also had 11 rebounds–helped UNC start its regular season 1-0 despite the absence of star point guard Marcus Paige, sidelined with a broken right hand.

“Our whole thing before the beginning of the game was just to get the ball down low, and get it as low as possible,” Meeks said after the game. “That’s what we did. It was for all the bigs. It just so happened some of my shots were going through.”

The loss sends the Owls to an 0-1 start after they won 26 games a year ago.

Joel Berry filled in nicely for Marcus Paige, as the Tar Heels opened their season with a win over Temple. (J.D. Lyon Jr./UNC Athletics)

UNC head coach Roy Williams was pleased with the way his team executed on offense, but was less than thrilled with what he saw on defense–especially during the first half.

“[Temple head coach Fran Dunphy] chose tonight to spread it and drive us a little bit because we had the advantage inside, and they made it very difficult for us,” Williams said. “Over the course of the game, though, I thought we did some good things as well.

“Scoring in the lane [it was] 42-14–we felt like we had an advantage with our big guys and we wanted to get it there,” the Hall-of-Famer added. “But we did want to guard better than we guarded.”

Temple jumped out to a five-point lead early in the game, and played the Tar Heels to a 34-34 tie as halftime neared. But sophomore Isaiah Hicks’ lay-up with 2:28 remaining kick-started a 13-2 UNC run that brought the score at the break to 47-36.

Key to that run were a trio of three-pointers, two from junior guard Nate Britt, and one a deep heave from sophomore Theo Pinson that went through three seconds before the buzzer.

PHOTOS: UNC vs. Temple

Britt and sophomore Joel Berry each filled in admirably for Paige running the offense–as Britt finished with 15 points and an assist off the bench, while Berry tacked on 14 points and dished out four assists.

“With [Paige] being out we just have to step up and everyone has to take on different roles,” Berry said. “And as you [saw] tonight we were able to do that.

Senior forward Joel James (42) fights for a loose ball. (J.D. Lyon Jr./ UNC Athletics)

“Kennedy and Brice [Johnson], I mean, Brice stepped up in the second half and Kennedy just played a great game the whole game,” he added. “So other guys are getting involved, and that’s what we need.”

Meeks’ tag-team partner in the post, Johnson recovered to finish with a double-double of his own. The senior scored 16 points and grabeed 10 rebounds after entering the break with just four points and three boards.

The margin of victory was impressive not only because of Paige’s injury, but because UNC also received just four points from sophomore wing Justin Jackson–expected by many to have a breakout campaign.

Leading the way for the Owls was a Clemson transfer, Devin Coleman, who put up 19 points–16 of which came in the first half.

Up Next:

Sunday marks the Tar Heels’ regular season home opener, as they return to the court to host the Fairfield Stags at 4 p.m.

Game Notes:

Britt was ejected from the game with one minute to play for leaving the bench during an altercation–which started when Johnson hung on the rim after a dunk, and was pushed to the ground by Temple guard Levan Alston.
The Tar Heels showed a much-improved shooting stroke as a team, going 7-of-12 from long range in the game.
UNC also outrebounded Temple 49-32, dominating down-low in all sorts of ways.
No Tar Heel player scored more than 24 points in a game all of last year (Paige in the ACC Championship Game against Notre Dame).

FINAL BOX SCORE

UNC Shakes Off Slow Start, Beats Temple 91-67 to Open 2015-16

PHOTOS: UNC vs. Temple

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