By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Cold shooting and ugly, sloppy, choppy play made No. 9 North Carolina’s opener hard to watch at times.
But the Tar Heels woke up in the final 6½ minutes after trailing by two to pull out a 90–76 victory Monday at the Smith Center against an Elon program that went 13–19 last season.
It was a tough early lesson for Carolina, which faces a mammoth challenge at No. 1 Kansas on Friday night.
“I think there’s a lot to learn from the entire game,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “I think it’s an opportunity to grow and get better in a number of different areas and both ends of the floor.”
Unsurprisingly, the player who shook UNC to life was fifth-year veteran guard RJ Davis, who said he felt like he “couldn’t shoot in the ocean.”
Davis took the Tar Heels from the edge of suffering a colossal upset by overcoming a bad shooting night to score 17 of his game-high 24 points in the second half. He scored 10 of UNC’s 12 points during one stretch of the pivotal 17–2 run.
“Early in my career, I probably would have stopped shooting the ball just because it’s not going in, and I’m just gonna shy away from it,” said Davis, adding that his experience has changed his mindset. “Trust your work and trust your work ethic. And I put a lot of time and effort into my game, not shying away from those moments. And that was really my mindset. Like, just to continue to be confident, continue to trust yourself. You’re gonna knock it down. “
The play on both ends by sophomore point guard Elliot Cadeau (17 points, four rebounds and three steals) was just as big. His eight assists were the most by a Tar Heel in an opener since Rashad McCants had eight against Old Dominion in 2003.
He smiled and clapped after his first 3-point attempt of the season rippled the net in the first 16 seconds, and his career-high third in the final minutes helped UNC pull away during the decisive run.
“It felt very good just to see my hard work is showing in that first shot,” said Cadeau, who was a game-high +28. “And then it meant a lot to me to see it going in.”
(Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics)
Cadeau was a big reason 22 of UNC’s 32 field goals were assisted, and that the Heels only had one turnover in the first 24 minutes. The Tar Heels finished with six turnovers, the fewest in an opener since that became a statistic in the late 1970s. The previous low was seven against Northern Iowa in 2017 and against Middle Tennessee State in 1997.
Carolina had trouble navigating Elon’s zone defense, which featured a two-guard front and was anchored by 7–4 graduate center Matthew Van Komen.
“We were just being too stagnant,” said RJ Davis, who dished out seven assists and pulled down seven rebounds. “We weren’t really moving the ball. The ball was staying stationary a little bit. And myself and the rest of the guards were just kind of standing in one spot, passing the ball back and forth. That just kind of made them feel comfortable and confident within their zone.”
Coach Davis said Elon did well by switching from man-to-man to zone, which made it tough on UNC’s defense.
“This is a great learning experience for us because people are going to play zone,” Davis said. “We’re going to play against teams that have tremendous size. So, we’re going to have to rebound, we’re going to have to dominate points in the paint. We’re going to have to be efficient whether they play man or zone. And this really gives us a blueprint on things that we’ve done well, that we continue to reinforce, but also some things that we need to get to work on.”
Jae’Lyn Withers started at the four after Cade Tyson began each exhibition game at that spot. He put up a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds and hit 2 of 3 3-point attempts.
Seth Trimble was solid again with 15 points, three 3-pointers and three assists.
Both teams scored 13 3-pointers, with Nick Dorn hitting five for Elon.
Sam Sherry fired in the Phoenix’s fourth 3-pointer to give Elon a 19–17 lead just over seven minutes into the game.
Harassing defense against Elon’s guards by Cadeau, Trimble and Drake Powell got the Heels going. Powell hit a 3-pointer from the left wing, got a steal, and made a layup to start a 15–2 run, which included him lobbing an alley-oop pass to Trimble for a transition dunk and a Withers corner 3-pointer.
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Two more Withers 3s ignited an 8–0 run to push the lead to 16, but a 13–5 Elon run cut it to five on Elon’s eighth 3-pointer, this one from TJ Simpkins. UNC scored the last seven points of the first half to take a 51–39 halftime lead.
After a scoreless first half, Washington had two dunks and a layup in less than two minutes. Elon pulled back within 10 on a TJ Simpkins 3-point play with 13:21 left. Two TJ Simpkins free throws capped a 13–0 Elon run to take a 71–69 lead with 6:48 left.
Davis then started that 17–2 run with a jumper and Trimble followed with a 3-pointer. Cadeau hit a 3-pointer, got a steal and made a free throw; then a Washington layup pushed the lead to nine. A jumper and 3-pointer from Daivs and a Cadeau layup pushed the lead to 14.
TJ Simpkins led Elon with 17 points.
NOTES — Carolina plays at No. 1 Kansas at 7 p.m. ET Friday (ESPN2). The Jayhawks, who lost at Arkansas 85–69 and beat Washburn at home 84–53 in exhibition play, opened their season Monday with an 87–57 home win against Howard. Kansas graduate center Hunter Dickerson scored 16 points after not playing in either exhibition game. … Carolina is 103–12 in season openers and has won 20 in a row since losing to Santa Clara in Oakland in 2004. … UNC has won 23 consecutive home openers, last losing to Hampton in 2002 to start the 8–20 season. … It was the Tar Heels’ 15th consecutive win over Elon, and they lead the series 22–4. … UNC has won its last 18 non-conference home games, last losing to Marquette on Feb. 24, 2022.
No. 9 UNC 90, Elon 76
| Date | Time/ scores | Month/day | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | Exhibitions | |||
| 9 | W, 88–70 | Friday | vs. No. 21 USC in Greensboro | — |
| 18 | L, 76–58 | Sunday | vs. Indiana in Indianapolis | — |
| 27 | W, 89–82, OT | Tuesday | vs. Charlotte | — |
| November | Regular season | |||
| 2 | W, 80–72 | Monday | vs. Western Carolina | 1–0 |
| 6 | W, 109–70 | Friday | vs. Wofford | 2–0 |
| 10 | W, 76–63 | Tuesday | vs. Wyoming | 3–0 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Friday | vs. Georgia | ESPN2 |
| 20 | 9 p.m. | Friday | vs. Marshall | ACCN |
| 23 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. Monmouth | ACCN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Friday | Dick Vitale Invitational vs. West Virginia in Charlotte | ESPN |
| December | ||||
| 1 | 7:30 | Tuesday | ACC/SEC Challenge vs. No. 19 Arkansas | ESPN |
| 6 | 3 p.m. | Sunday | vs. Butler | ESPN2 |
| 12 | Noon | Saturday | at Georgetown | Peacock |
| 15 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | Tobacco Road Classic vs. N.C. State in Greensboro | ESPN2 |
| 19 | 2:30 | Saturday | CBS Sports Classic vs. No. 24 Kentucky in New York | CBS |
| 21 | 8 p.m. | Monday | vs. The Citadel | The CW |
| 30 | 4 p.m. | Wednesday | vs. California | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 2 | 4 p.m. | Saturday | at Boston College | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 5 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at No. 10 Louisville | ESPN or ESPNU |
| 9 | Noon | Saturday | vs. N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 13 | 7 p.m. | Wednesday | at Florida State | ESPN2 or ESPNU |
| 16 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Stanford | The CW |
| 19 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. No. 6 Virginia | ESPN |
| 23 | Noon | Saturday | at Syracuse | ESPN or 2 or U |
| 26 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | vs. SMU | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 30 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | Nashville Hoops Showdown vs. No. 3 Illinois in Nashville, Tenn. | ESPN |
| February | ||||
| 2 | 7 p.m. | Tuesday | at Notre Dame | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 2:15 | Saturday | vs. Georgia Tech | The CW |
| 8 | 6 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 10 Louisville | ESPN |
| 13 | 5:30 | Saturday | at No. 2 Duke | ABC |
| 20 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 22 | 7 p.m. | Monday | vs. No. 17 Miami | ESPN |
| 27 | 7 p.m. | Saturday | at Virginia Tech | ESPN |
| March | ||||
| 2 | 9 p.m. | Tuesday | at Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 6 | 6 or 6:30 | Saturday | vs. No. 2 Duke | ESPN |
| 9–13 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament in Greensboro |
Photos courtesy of UNC Athletics
