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Off the cuff: The 63 first half points against Elon were the most since the Heels scored 65 in the second half against Florida State in January of 2016. That was when Brice Johnson couldn't miss.

The 116 total points was tied for the most points scored in the Roy Williams era. The Heels won 116-48 against UNC-Asheville in 2008.

The Nassir Little era officially began with an impressive effort. Coach Williams said that he wants to play more and he knows he has to hit the offensive boards hard in order to do so. He did that against Elon, with five of his seven rebounds coming on the offensive end. He'll probably be in the starting lineup soon and for as long as he is a Tar Heel. "He's coming quickly," Coach Williams said.

It was fun to see all of Brandon Robinson's points coming on dunks.

Luke Maye was only three of nine from the field for eight points while Garrison Brooks was only three of five for seven points. Those two were leading scorers in the opening game.

Andrew Platek, who didn't play in the first game, played nine minutes and scored six points in this one.

Bench players K.J. Smith (5), Caleb Ellis (2) and Shea Rush (1) all scored.

Tar Heels 116, Elon 67
UNC's Johnson, young guns lead romp

UNC got strong efforts from a graduate student and a pair of freshmen to romp over Elon 116-67 on a night the Phoenix opened their new arena in Burlington. (11/9)

Cam Johnson, who transfered from Pitt last season, and highly recruited Nassir Little, playing only his second collegiate game, each scored 21 points to lead the Tar Heels. Coby White, the other freshman sensation, added 14 points. Sterling Manley, a sophomore, rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points.

"I decided I was going to get to the offensive boards tonight," said Little, who only scored seven in the first game. "I understand I came in with a lot of hype but it's winning that means the most to me."

Little got seven rebounds, including five offensive boards, and had a few highlight reel plays. A Little rebound follow slam dunk at the end of the first half drew some ahs from the crowd and put Carolina up 63-45 at the break.

Johnson scored 16 of his points in that first half despite picking up two fouls in the first four minutes of the game.

"He's shooting it really well," UNC coach Roy Williams said. "Very efficient... a smart, smart kids. I didn't like him getting two fouls early though."

Johnson already had seven points before he picked up his second foul. Despite sitting out several minutes, he came back in to hit a pair of threes and hit three free throws before halftime. He hit six of his first seven shots.

Coach Williams was more impressed with his team in the second half however. Elon hit five of its first six shots to take an early 12-9 lead.

"I thought we were much better in the second half. We were not effective in the first six or eight minutes," Coach Williams said. "After that, I thought we played well... We were more active, intelligently active in the second half. But they just missed some open shots too."

Pressure, trapping defense led to several scoring runs for the Tar Heels in the second half that saw the lead steadily increase to the final 49-point margin. Everyone that played for the Tar Heels scored.

The physically superior Heels got 29 second-chance points compared to just 10 by Elon.

The Tar Heels, 2-0, host Stanford Monday night.

Box score


UNC's Sterling Manley scores two of his 11. (UNC Sports Information photo)

 



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