By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — Carolina continues to perfect high-level second-half offense.
Elliot Cadeau jump-started the latest example against an overmatched Campbell team on a night when RJ Davis made school history.
Even though the Camels are the worst team on UNC’s schedule at 304 in the NET rankings, they hung with UNC for much of the first half. But the Tar Heels shifted into high gear after Cadeau’s four points and three assists in the first 4:15 of the second half, and they earned a 97–81 victory Sunday at the Smith Center in their final non-conference game despite a rough second half on defense.
Most important for Coach Hubert Davis from the win was playing well under the boards while taking care of the basketball.
“For us to be able to have success moving forward, not only do we have to become a good defensive and rebounding team, but it has to be consistent as well,” said Coach Davis, whose team only committed seven turnovers but wasn’t all that good defensively in the final minutes.
RJ Davis became the program’s all-time leader in 3-pointers with 303, four more than Assistant Coach Marcus Paige, by collecting 23 points and a season-high five 3-pointers, while Ian Jackson scored a season-high 26 points and hit three 3-pointers in his first college start.
The history was significant, but more important for this season’s team is that Davis appears to be hitting more step-back 3s and finding his shooting groove.
“I think sometimes early on in the season, I was telling myself, ‘I have to make this shot,’ and that was causing me to miss a lot,” said RJ Davis, who wore his lucky pink shoes in scoring at least four 3-pointers for the 30th time in his career. “So, I’m in a mindset right now, just let it fly to make or miss it and then live with the results.”
A big reason that RJ Davis is getting more open shots is the threat Jackson, who scored 18 second-half points, continues to present to opponents.
“I think one of the things that helps is just the growth of Ian; you’ve got another scorer out there,” Coach Davis said. “When you have another person out there that can go get buckets, very similar to what he experienced last year, where you had Cormac [Ryan], Harrison [Ingram] and Armando [Bacot. He’s] got a little more space to be able to get into his offensive game.”
Cadeau, who finished with 12 points and 12 assists, ran the offense efficiently, and the Camels (5–8) were helpless to stop the Tar Heels (8–5) when they went to more of an inside-out approach.
The first bucket of the game and two baskets at the start of the second half were set plays in which Cadeau threaded nice passes to Jalen Washington coming off screens for dunks.
“I’m not going to put it on them,” Coach Davis said of creating more inside points. “I’ve got to do a better job of calling post play specifically to get post catches and looks down low.”
The reason the game shifted in the second half against Campbell was clearly UNC getting the ball inside more. The Tar Heels went from attempting 17 3-pointers and only making four free throws in the first half to attempting 11 3s and 12 free throws after halftime.
“I want to dominate points in the paint through post and penetration,” Coach Davis said. “I want to live in the paint and I want to live at the free throw line. They can recite that because I say that to them every day. I love 3s, but we have the ability to put max pressure on the rim. And I thought in the second half, we did a better job of that.”
Washington, making his first start in four games, collected 10 points and five rebounds. He said that Coach Davis is pushing for the big men to help the Tar Heels dominate inside play. It was, of course, easier against a shorter Camels team.
“It’s definitely been a point of emphasis,” Washington said. “It helps out our guards; we rely on our guards heavily. Us complimenting them on the offensive end and drawing defenders in and finishing.”
Going inside more made sense against Campbell.
“We knew they didn’t really have that many shot blockers going to the game, so Coach Davis really just wanted us to dominate points in the paint,” RJ Davis said. “I feel like we settled a lot in the first half. But we were effective in the paint. So, we were able to get to the line, and that’s how we wanted to play, inside out, penetrate, and then if you have a layup, take it, be able to kick it out to somebody else and knock it down.”
Davis scored three first-half 3-pointers for the first time this season, and Carolina mad six of its first nine shots but only led 14–12 5½ minutes into the game. Campbell scored two dunks and two other layups.
The Heels led by as many as 10 points at 12:41 (but Campbell pulled within four points five minutes later) and 6:28 of the first half (with the Camels cutting the deficit to five 3½ minutes later).
UNC went scoreless for nearly four minutes before Drake Powell hit a short jumper to start a 6–0 run to end the half, giving the Heels a 40–29 halftime lead. The Heels’ 51.6% first-half shooting marked their fourth first-half shooting of at least 50% this season.
Carolina made it a rout with an 11–4 run, going up by 22 on a Davis 3-pointer and a Cade Tyson layup with 12:45 left.
Colby Dugan poured in a career-high 32 points and five 3-pointers to lead Campbell.
NOTES — Carolina plays the first of seven remaining Quad 1 games on its schedule at 6 p.m. Wednesday (ACCN) at Louisville (8–5, 1–1 ACC), with only league games left in its schedule. The Cardinals, who lost to No. 4 Duke 76–65 at home on Dec. 14 and won at Florida State 90–76 on Dec. 21 in ACC play, won 78–76 at home Saturday against Eastern Kentucky. … This is the first time multiple freshmen have started for the Tar Heels since Caleb Love and Kerwin Walton started against Wisconsin in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, Coach Roy Williams’ last game as head coach. … Davis passed Virginia’s Jeff Lamp and Duke’s Mike Gminski for 10th in ACC history with 2,333 career points. … Jackson, who started after Seth Trimble suffered an upper-body injury in practice on Saturday and missed the game, became the first freshman to score at least 20 points in consecutive games (he scored 24 against UCLA) since Cole Anthony in 2020. … This was the first meeting between UNC and Campbell. … Tyson gave Campbell’s Jasin Sinani a bloody nose while going for a rebound midway through the first half, drawing a flagrant 1 foul. … Washington started after Ven-Allen Lubin had been in the starting lineup the previous four games. … UNC is 232–19 against non-conference in-state teams and has won 50 in a row.
UNC 97, Campbell 81
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Duke | 10–1 | 21–2 | 3 |
| No. 20 Clemson | 10–1 | 20–4 | 30 |
| No. 15 Virginia | 9–2 | 20–3 | 17 |
| N.C. State | 9–3 | 18–7 | 29 |
| No. 11 North Carolina | 7–3 | 19–4 | 22 |
| Miami | 7–3 | 18–5 | 37 |
| No. 24 Louisville | 8–4 | 18–6 | 14 |
| SMU | 5–5 | 16–7 | 34 |
| California | 5–6 | 17–7 | 58 |
| Virginia Tech | 5–6 | 16–8 | 55 |
| Florida State | 4–6 | 11–12 | 95 |
| Stanford | 4–7 | 15–9 | 68 |
| Syracuse | 4–7 | 13–11 | 71 |
| Wake Forest | 2–8 | 11–12 | 67 |
| Boston College | 2–8 | 9–14 | 148 |
| Georgia Tech | 2–9 | 11–13 | 151 |
| Notre Dame | 2–9 | 11–13 | 89 |
| Pittsburgh | 2–9 | 9–15 | 123 |
* — Through Monday games
Saturday’s results
N.C. State 82, Virginia Tech 71
No. 15 Virginia 72, Syracuse 59
No. 24 Louisville 88, Wake Forest 80
Miami 74, Boston College 68
SMU 86, Pittsburgh 67
Florida State 82, Notre Dame 79
No. 11 North Carolina 71, No. 4 Duke 68
No. 20 Clemson 77, California 55
Stanford 95, Georgia Tech 72
Monday’s result
No. 24 Louisville 118, N.C. State 77
Tuesday’s games
No. 11 North Carolina at Miami, 7 p.m., ESPN
No. 15 Virginia at Florida State, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Notre Dame at SMU, 7 p.m., ACC Network
No. 4 Duke at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m., ESPN
Wednesday’s games
Virginia Tech at No. 20 Clemson, ACC Network
California at Syracuse, 7 p.m., ESPNU
Wake Forest at Georgia Tech, 9 p.m., ACC Network
Stanford at Boston College, 9 p.m., ESPNU
Saturday’s games
No. 20 Clemson at No. 4 Duke, noon, ESPN
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame, noon, The CW
California at Boston College, noon, ACC Network
Pittsburgh at No. 11 North Carolina, 2 p.m., ESPN
Florida State at Virginia Tech, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at Syracuse, 2 p.m., The CW
No. 24 Louisville vs. Baylor in Fort Worth, Texas, 4 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2
Stanford at Wake Forest, 4 p.m., ACC Network
Miami at N.C. State, 4 p.m., ESPN, ESPN2 or ESPNU
No. 15 Virginia vs. Ohio State in Nashville, 8 p.m., Fox
| Date | Month/day | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 24 | Friday | L, 78–76 | vs. No. 22 BYU in SLC | Exhib. |
| 29 | Wednesday | W, 95–53 | vs. Winston-Salem St. | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 94–54 | vs. Central Arkansas | 1–0 |
| 7 | Friday | W, 87–74 | vs. No. 9 Kansas | 2–0 |
| 11 | Tuesday | W, 89–74 | vs. Radford | 3–0 |
| 14 | Friday | W, 97–53 | vs. N.C. Central | 4–0 |
| 18 | Tuesday | W, 73–61 | vs. Navy | 5–0 |
| Fort Myers Tip-Off | ||||
| 25 | Tuesday | W, 85–70 | vs. St. Bonaventure | 6–0 |
| 27 | Thursday | L, 74–58 | vs. No. 10 Michigan State | 6–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Men’s Challenge | |||
| 2 | Tuesday | W, 67–64 | at No. 25 Kentucky | 7–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 81–61 | vs. Georgetown | 8–1 |
| 13 | Saturday | W, 80–62 | vs. USC Upstate | 9–1 |
| 16 | Tuesday | W, 77–58 | vs. ETSU | 10–1 |
| CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta | ||||
| 20 | Saturday | W, 71–70 | vs. Ohio State | 11–1 |
| ————————— | ||||
| 22 | Monday | W, 99–51 | vs. East Carolina | 12–1 |
| 30 | Tuesday | W, 79–66 | vs. Florida State | 13–1, 1–0 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 3 | Saturday | L, 97–83 | at SMU | 13–2, 1–1 |
| 10 | Saturday | W, 87–84 | vs. Wake Forest | 14–2, 2–1 |
| 14 | Wednesday | L, 95–90 | at Stanford | 14–3, 2–2 |
| 17 | Saturday | L, 84–78 | at California | 14–4, 2–3 |
| 21 | Wednesday | W, 91–69 | vs. Notre Dame | 15–4, 3–3 |
| 24 | Saturday | W, 85–80 | at No. 15 Virginia | 16–4, 4–3 |
| 31 | Saturday | W, 91–75 | at Georgia Tech | 17–4, 5–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 87–77 | vs. Syracuse | 18–4, 6–3 |
| 7 | Saturday | W, 71–68 | vs. No. 4 Duke | 19–4, 7–3 |
| 10 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at Miami | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 14 | Saturday | 2 p.m. | vs. Pittsburgh | ESPN |
| 17 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 21 | Saturday | 1 p.m. | at Syracuse | ABC |
| 23 | Monday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 24 Louisville | ESPN |
| 28 | Saturday | 6:30 or 8:30 | vs. Virginia Tech | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| March | ||||
| 3 | Tuesday | 7 p.m. | vs. No. 20 Clemson | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 7 | Saturday | 6:30 | at No. 4 Duke | ESPN |
| 10–14 | Tues.-Sat. | ACC tournament | Spectrum Center, Charlotte |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
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