A 20-0 run in the first half was followed up by a 22-0 run in the second half as North Carolina set a new record for points scored against NC State in a 107-56 victory on Sunday.
Many were excited for the point guard matchup between NC State’s star freshman Dennis Smith Jr. and UNC’s Joel Berry. But early foul trouble for the Wolfpack freshman set the tone for the matchup and the game as a whole.
While NC State’s offense couldn’t get going, the Tar Heels were out to a quick start with a 6-0 lead. The first 20-0 run came after NC State narrowed that to a 6-4 margin. UNC never looked back.
The Tar Heels had a balanced scoring attack with Justin Jackson and Joel Berry leading the way with 21 and 19 points, respectively. Freshman Tony Bradley celebrated his birthday by contributing 11 points to match Isaiah Hicks’ scoring total as the only other double-figurer scorers for UNC.
Kennedy Meeks, Kenny Williams and Luke Maye all scored nine points. No UNC players were on the court for more than 23 of the game’s 40 minutes.
The game was being held after hazardous road conditions caused officials to postpone from the originally scheduled primetime slot on Saturday night.
