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Off the cuff: Well, you can't say the Tar Heels never play well early anymore. In the first 10 minutes, Carolina got out to a 27-12 lead over James Madision.

The Dukes' first five goals were all threes as the Tar Heels controlled the paint. The threes even stopped falling as the Carolina defense ruled the day.

Coach Davis, despite Armando Bacot obivious heriocs of a career-high 22 points, specifically pointed to the defense of Caleb Love and Leaky Black.

Neither Love nor Black were huge contributors offensively. Love was just one of six from three-point land and ended with nine points while Black was one of four from three and ended with just five points.

Coach Davis said the pair's pressure on the ball was particularly good. "We have a chance to be a great team on the defensive end," he said.

The defense, rebounding specifically, had been a little sketchy in the first three games. Carolina needed an outing like this one before entering the Phil Knight Invitational.

Carolina plays host Portland on Thursday at 1 p.m. and will play Iowa State or Villanova Friday afternoon. The championship game is Sunday.

On Nov. 30, Carolina travels to Indiana.

So things get tougher. Coach Davis said they are all tough.

"It's hard to win at this level," Coach Davis said. "We get everybody's best effort."

Carolina 80, James Madison 64
Bacot leads Heels to more complete win

UNC's Armando Bacot controlled the offensive and defensive boards in a win over James Madison. (UNC Sports Information photo.)

In the first three games, North Carolina got out to slow starts. This time, Armando Bacot didn't let that happen as the Tar Heels got out to a 21-point lead in the first half and eased to an 80-64 win at home over James Madison. (11/20)

Bacot, who ended up with 19 points and a career-high 23 rebounds, already had a double-double at halftime with 11 points and 11 rebounds as the Heels went into the break with a 45-26 halftime advantage.

"Anything around him, he got it," UNC coach Hubert Davis said. "He pursues the ball relentlessly and he's impossible to box out."

Davis said this game was a step forward for his Tar Heels, who was playing an undefeated James Madison team that he called one of the hottest teams in the country. "Defensively we were fantastic," he said. "We rebounded extremely well."

It was by far the best rebounding effort so far this year as Carolina outrebounded James Madison 50-34. Leaky Black has his career high rebounding as well with 12.

The Dukes came into the game averaging 105 points a game and shooting 58 percent from the floor, including 54 percent from beyond the arc. The Tar Heels held James Madison to just 34.8 percent, including just 26 percent from three.

"JMU has a chance to go to the (NCAA) tournament," Bacot said. "Beating them the way we did does a lot for our confidence."

However, a sloppy second half, highlighted by an early 12-2 James Madison run, was evenly played by both teams.

The Dukes got the margin all the way down to eight at 57-49 midway through the second half but Carolina went on an 8-1 run to get the lead back up to 15 and the lead never got under double figures again.

During that run, R.J. Davis, who led the Heels in scoring with 21 points, hit a baseline a runner and went coast to coast for a driving layup to make it 65-50.

Pete Nance was the third Carolina player in double figures as he scored 11. Takai Molson led the Dukes, now 4-1, with 19 points.

Puff Johnson, who has been injured, got his first action of the season as he scored six, including a three from the corner, in 13 minutes of play. "It was great to see Puff out on the floor," Coach Davis said. "Puff brings us energy and effort. The ball just finds him."

Carolina, 4-0, plays Portland in a holiday tournament Thursday at 1 p.m. to start a five-game stretch on the road against tough competition.

Box score

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