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Off the cuff: Following the victory over Elon, the Tar Heels still have two more home games, including the conference opener against Florida State, before players go back to class.

Coach Williams said, "So that means we are a basketball team now let's focus on basketball. I think we got better in practice, and I think we got better in the first half tonight. I think it's good for us to get a chance to play. You don't want to practice for 11 straight days or anything like that. But we gave them a huge break. We gave our guys five days off for Christmas."

Tar Heels 100, Elon 62
Heels D-UNC Elon, control 1st half

The North Carolina Tar Heels used a couple of dominating D's in the first half - defense and dunks - on their way to whipping Elon 100-62 at home. (12/29) Click here for a photo gallery.

The Tar Heels held Elon scoreless for more than eight minutes as the Phoenix scored just 19 points in the first half and were held to just 20 percent shooting.

Meanwhile, Carolina used a 23-0 run and a slew of dunks, six of them by John Henson, to take commanding 53-19 halftime lead. Henson had a double-double in the first half alone with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

UNC won the second half by just four points as Elon shot better and second and third team players saw lots of action for the Heels.

One highlight play in the second half included nice ball movement where each player touched the ball before Tyler Zeller, who led all scorers with 19 points, put in an easy lay up.

A pair of dunks by Harrison Barnes, who finished with 18 points despite being sick, also highlighted the half. He drove past defenders through the lane for one dunk and took a feed from Kendall Marshall, who had eight assists and only one turnover, and flew through the air for a dunk and foul, which resulted in a three-point play.

Fittingly, Carolina's largest lead came on a Dexter Strickland dunk after he had driven the length of the court to five UNC a 50-point margin at 88-38.

The Tar Heels managed just 12 points over the last seven minutes to settle for a 38-point victory.

UNC coach Roy Williams was impressed with Carolina's defense and, in general, said the team made significant steps to get better. While he acknowledged all the dunks, he said that it's an easy shot for guys that are big and athletic. "Phil Ford was a pretty good player and he never dunked one, except in his dreams," Coach Williams said.

Carolina, now 12-2, host Monmouth New Year's afternoon.

Boxscore


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