The North Carolina Tar Heels are now 3-0 to begin the season after a 77-52 win over UC Riverside in the Dean Dome on Friday night.
North Carolina led from start to finish, getting out to a double-digit lead in the first half. While the Highlanders did trim it down to 11 at halftime, UNC used a 17-0 run to open up the second half to blow this game open.
For the third-straight game, Armando Bacot finished with 20-plus points, putting up 21 in this one. He didn’t record his third double-double of the season but did finish with 7 rebounds.
While UNC controlled this game the entire way, they did so shooting 45 percent from the field. But they did struggle in one aspect of the game as they shot just 28 percent from the three-point line, making 6-of-21 attempts.
That’s been an issue for the Tar Heels early on in the season and one that they hope can get fixed before they hit the tough part of the non-conference schedule.
As for UNC’s defense, they held the Highlanders without a made field goal for the first nine minutes of the second half. The defense was swarming all game long, finishing with 8 blocks including 3 from Jae’Lyn Withers.
Jalen Washington and Seth Trimble both added 11 points each off the bench for the Tar Heels.
Player of the Game
For this game, we are going with Seth Trimble. The sophomore guard had his best game of the early season. He finished with 11 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist on the game.
That included a big dunk that got the fans on their feet.
What’s next?
The Tar Heels now head to the Bahamas to play in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. They open up the tournament facing off against Northern Iowa on Wednesday morning.