Despite trailing 71-69 late in the second half, Carolina fought past Elon to earn a 90-76 win in the 2024-25 season opener at the Dean Smith Center on Monday night.

“I think there’s a lot to learn from the entire game,” head coach Hubert Davis said afterward. “There’s things that we’ve got to improve on. We feel very fortunate to be able to pull away.”

Reigning ACC Player of the Year R.J. Davis scored 24 points to lead all scorers, but shot just 7-19 from the field (3-11 on three-pointers).

“I couldn’t shoot in the ocean today,” Davis said. “I don’t know what it was. But it’s all good. Just getting back into the flow of things… I know they’re gonna fall.”

Elliot Cadeau added 17 points and eight assists, while Seth Trimble set a new (non-exhibition) career high with 15 points. Cadeau made three of his four three-point attempts and added four rebounds, three steals and two blocks. He finished with a +28 rating, by far the highest on the team.

“That’s who he is now,” Trimble said of Cadeau. “You want to disrespect him and sag off five feet? He’ll have [three] threes. You’ve gotta respect him… he’s the best [point guard] in America.”

The Tar Heels led by as many as 16 points in the first half and by 12 at halftime, but the Phoenix clawed back with hot shooting in a frenetic second half. Elon scored 14 straight points to erase a 69-57 deficit and take a two-point lead in front of a stunned Smith Center. Elon shot 50 percent (13-26) in the second half.

“I’ve been straightforward, clear and direct: for us to be the best team that we can possibly become, we’ve got to be a great defensive team,” Hubert Davis said. “And allowing a team to shoot 50 to 60 percent in the second half is just not gonna get it done.”

R.J. Davis answered with five consecutive points of his own to give the Tar Heels the lead back. It kickstarted the Carolina offense, which finished the game on a 21-5 run to finally pull away.

“There was no panic,” Trimble said. “Just working out the kinks. We’ve been here before. We’ve been in these tough situations early in the season… it’s what comes with it. Teams come in and give us their best shot. And if we’re not at our best, it’ll be a different result than we think it is.”

As a team, the Tar Heels hot 32-80 (40 percent) for the game and just 14-34 (41.2 percent) in the second half. Every Tar Heel to play scored at least two points. Jalen Washington (eight points) and Jae’Lyn Withers (10 points) rounded out the starting lineup with Cadeau, Davis and Trimble. Freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell each scored five points off the bench.

Carolina will be back in action when it travels to face No. 1 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Friday night at 7 p.m. Eastern time.

 

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

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