Excitement was at all-time high on the campus of Elon University on Friday night, as the school prepared to host No. 8 UNC in its first men’s basketball game at the brand new Schar Center.
After Elon put up a spirited fight in the early going, though, the talent difference began to shine through–as the Tar Heels rolled to a 116-67 victory for their second straight road win to begin the 2018-19 campaign.
Graduate transfer Cameron Johnson led the offensive explosion for UNC (2-0), tying for the game lead with 21 points while shooting 7-for-11 from the floor.
Johnson had seven points in the opening minutes before going to the bench early in the first half with two fouls. From there, he continued to crush the Phoenix with a silky smooth pull-up jumper that will likely be a cornerstone of the Tar Heel offense the rest of the season.
In addition to Johnson’s work–which included 16 points in the first half to help UNC pull away–the Tar Heels also received big-time outings from two of their highly-touted freshmen.
After struggling in the first half, the UNC defense buckled down and held Elon to just 22 points in the second half. (AP Photo/ Gerry Broome)
Point guard Coby White was in the starting lineup once again, and would go on to finish the night with a career-high 14 points to go along with three rebounds and a pair of assists.
Meanwhile, uber-athletic wing Nassir Little was fantastic off the bench–posting 21 points, seven rebounds and three steals, all of which were career highs.
With Johnson, White and Little doing the heavy lifting for UNC, senior forward Luke Maye was able to take a backseat for the night.
The top scorer with 24 points in the Tar Heels’ season-opening win over Wofford on Tuesday, Maye had just eight points against Elon. Still, though, his contributions were felt elsewhere as he led the team with 10 rebounds.
Perhaps the only negative takeaway from the game for UNC would have to come from its lackadaisical defense in the first half.
Elon–which started five seniors–was able to keep the game within single digits for the first 13 minutes of action, thanks to a series of wide open layups and three-pointers resulting from smart cutting and passing.
Tar Heel head coach Roy Williams was visibly unhappy with his team’s failure to rotate and communicate properly on that end of the floor, as his team was struggling to put away a team with far less talent than his.
That changed in the second half, however, with UNC holding Elon to just 22 points as a team after the break–all while using turnovers to create easy transition baskets on offense.
The Tar Heels built their lead up to 30 points with 13 minutes still remaining on the game clock, and would ultimately go on cruise control the rest of the way.
Elon was led by a career-high 16 points from Sheldon Eberhardt.
Up Next:
After back-to-back games on the road to start the season, UNC will have its home opener at the Smith Center on Monday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m.
Game Notes:
- Friday marked Johnson’s fourth game of at least 20 points since transferring to UNC from Pitt prior to the beginning of last season.
- The third member of UNC’s freshman class, Leaky Black, finished the night with a solid all-around stat line of eight points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
- UNC shot 51.7 percent from the floor in the game, despite making only seven of its 24 attempts from three-point range. The Tar Heels’ 116 points were also tied for the most ever scored by the team during the Roy Williams era.
- All 15 players that saw the floor for the Tar Heels scored at least two points.
Cover photo via Gerry Broome (Associated Press)
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