In its first meeting with SMU as a conference foe, Carolina never trailed against the Mustangs and rolled to an 82-67 win at the Smith Center on Tuesday night.

R.J. Davis led the way with 26 points, the last three of which came on a fadeaway three-pointer to beat the shot clock late in the second half. But the night wouldn’t end well for Davis, as the reigning ACC Player of the Year took a blow to the face in the final minutes and left the game bleeding from his nose.

“His head kind of faceplanted into my nose,” Davis, no worse for wear, said afterward. “I have a sensitive nose, so I bleed a lot.”

R.J. Davis holds his nose after taking a blow to the face against SMU at the Smith Center. (Image via Todd Melet)

Ian Jackson added 18 points and Drake Powell scored 17. Seth Trimble returned to action after missing the previous three games with an upper-body injury but did not score.

Against the ACC’s top scoring offense, the Tar Heel defense held SMU to just 24 points in the first half and a season-worst shooting performance for the game: 23-69 (33.3 percent). The Mustangs entered the night as the league’s top three-point shooting team, but ended 4-18 (22.2 percent, 16 points below their season average and also a season-worst) in that category. Leading scorer Kevin “Boopie” Miller, a transfer from Wake Forest, ended the night 3-15 from the field with just nine points. UNC blocked seven SMU shots and recorded eight steals.

“In order for us to be the best that we can be, it has to be all parts working together,” said head coach Hubert Davis. “And I felt like, especially in the first half defensively, we were able to do that.”

“I’m really proud of our defense,” said R.J. Davis. “Overall, our communication on the defensive end was great. And that allowed us to go up big in the first and second half… we’re gonna need more of that moving forward.”

Buoyed by the defense, Carolina led 39-24 at halftime and expanded that edge to as large as 63-38 midway through the second half. The Mustangs got as close as 66-52 with 6:05 to go, but the ensuing sequence saw Powell make a three-pointer and SMU’s bench assessed a technical foul. Davis made both free throws after the foul, and SMU wouldn’t get closer than 15 points until the final two minutes.

SMU came into the game as the ACC’s top rebounding team, but Carolina controlled the glass in the first half, outrebounding the Mustangs 25-19. The Mustangs ended the night with a slight rebounding edge (41-39), marking the third consecutive game in which the Tar Heels have been outrebounded.

Tuesday night’s game was UNC’s fourth overall meeting with the Mustangs and first since 1987. The Tar Heels have now won three of the four matchups.

With the win, Carolina improves to 10-6 overall and 3-1 in ACC play. The Tar Heels will be back in action when they visit NC State in Raleigh on Saturday at 4 p.m.

 

Featured image via Todd Melet. For a photo gallery of the game, click here.

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
UNC's Drake Powell Declares for NBA Draft
UNC freshman wing Drake Powell has declared for the 2025 NBA Draft. Powell made the announcement on his Instagram page Wednesday afternoon. View this post on Instagram A post shared by D R I Z Z Y (@drakepoww) While playing at Pittsboro’s Northwood High School, Powell became a five-star prospect across all major recruiting services. […]
Here's a List of Who is Transferring Out of the UNC Men's Basketball Program (2025)
The college basketball transfer portal opened March 24, and several Tar Heels have entered their names in. Here’s a list of which players have expressed their intention to leave Chapel Hill this offseason: F Ven-Allen Lubin Lubin announced his entry into the portal April 21, but with a catch: the big man said his “full […]
Seth Trimble Confirms His Return for A Senior Season With UNC Men's Basketball
Guard Seth Trimble posted on Instagram with the UNC men's basketball account Tuesday confirming he is planning to play a fourth season in Carolina blue.
'We've Got to Get Bigger': Highlights from Hubert Davis' Final Radio Show of the Season
UNC men’s basketball head coach Hubert Davis recorded his final radio show of the season Wednesday night. Davis addressed multiple topics during the hour-long broadcast, including next steps for his program, goals in the transfer portal and his recruiting process during the offseason. Here are some of Davis’ comments, which have been lightly edited for […]
Chansky's Notebook: Just Too Small
UNC head coach Hubert Davis and new general manager Jim Turner need to turn over the roster again to return the Tar Heels to relevance.
UNC's Season-Ending Loss Showed the Tar Heels' Identity, For Better And For Worse
UNC ended the season much the same way it began it: consistently inconsistent, and falling a few plays short of a signature win.
Ole Miss Holds Off Comeback, Ends UNC Men's Basketball's Season in NCAA 1st Round
Chapelboro.com’s coverage of UNC in the NCAA Tournament is proudly presented by Town Hall Grill in Southern Village, and High & Rubish Insurance Agency. UNC fell behind early and never recovered against No. 6 seed Ole Miss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon in Milwaukee, falling to the Rebels 71-64. The Tar Heels’ […]
Chansky's Notebook: Dour Dancing
The ACC needs more than one team to advance into the second round, or it would underscore criticism of the underperforming conference.
The UNC Fan's Travel Guide to Milwaukee
Chapelboro.com’s coverage of UNC in the NCAA Tournament is proudly presented by Town Hall Grill in Southern Village, and High & Rubish Insurance Agency. UNC men’s basketball fans have flocked to Milwaukee to support the Tar Heels in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament this weekend. It’s a rare trip to Wisconsin for the […]
UNC Men's Basketball NCAA Tournament Opponent Breakdown: Ole Miss
Chapelboro.com’s coverage of UNC in the NCAA Tournament is proudly presented by Town Hall Grill in Southern Village, and High & Rubish Insurance Agency. After beating San Diego State in the First Four Tuesday night in Dayton, Carolina is moving on to the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament. The Tar Heels will face No. […]
›