North Carolina escaped a tough introductory game to the Maui Invitational on Monday night as Dayton gave them everything they could handle.
The first half was all Flyers as Dayton got out to an 18-point lead in the first 20 minutes and extended it to 21 points in the second half.
North Carolina eventually won, 92-90, but it was yet another soft start that got them behind against a good team. This was the sentiment of coaches and players alike after the close win.
RJ Davis told reporters after the game, via Inside Carolina, the importance of a strong first half.
There was a lot of motivation going into halftime for myself and Seth. We were kind of like the voice in terms of just trying to get guys going and just build our spirit. Obviously we went down big in the first half. Wasn’t the first half we like to play. Myself and Seth, we just told them, like, We got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot. We always putting ourselves in this positions and got to climb our way back into games. If we can just put together the second half like we did tonight in the first half for a full 40 minutes, we’ll be more than fine. I feel like in the second half, the way we battled, competed, we just chipped away possession by possession. I think that’s when we knew we would come back from this game.
RJ Davis and Seth Trimble combined for 57 points of the team’s total 92 points on the night, which was just over 60%. Trimble also finished with a double-double pulling down 10 rebounds while Davis grabbed seven himself.
Heading into a tough game today against a top-five opponent, it will be important for this Tar Heels team to get the first half going with the same energy that they left the Dayton game with yesterday.
North Carolina takes on Auburn at 11:00 p.m. ET tonight, airing on ESPN.
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