Upon first look at Friday night’s box score, you might think UNC dominated NC Central throughout its 97-53 blowout.
In the end, yes. North Carolina (4-0) rode a controlling second half towards victory, scoring 58 points to surpass NCCU’s (1-4) full game point total.
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The visiting Eagles made things interest late in the first half, though, closing their gap to 29-23 with just under four minutes remaining. The Tar Heels then started to distance themselves with a 10-1 run into halftime, followed by a 12-2 run out of the break.
Closing out his postgame press conference, UNC head coach Hubert Davis highlighted those two runs, particularly his team’s hot stretch coming out of halftime.
“To me, I thought it was all tied to us taking care of the basketball,” Davis said. “In the first half, not only did we have 10 turnovers, I think we had 15 balls tipped. And in the second half, it wasn’t that. We were getting shots. And then also defensively, we were getting stops. We were rebounding – and then it was allowing us to get out in transition. But I think the number one determining factor (in those runs) was because we took care of the basketball.”
North Carolina didn’t turn the ball over once in second-half action. The Tar Heels attempted 55 shots, making 30 of them (55 percent on fields goals). UNC out-rebounded NCCU, 51-30, while earning a 13-0 advantage in fast break points.
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Navy comes to Chapel Hill on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off, the last opponent on North Carolina’s season-opening, 5-game homestand. Will ball security improve even further – and will the Tar Heels piece together a full, 40 minutes of dominant basketball?
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: Hubert Davis wants UNC to take care of the basketball better
