University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
Robert Morris
Carolina Beats Robert Morris 103-59
November 17, 2014 | Men's Basketball
by AARON BEARD (AP Basketball Writer)
CHAPEL HILL -- Brice Johnson scored 23 points while Kennedy Meeks had 21 to help No. 6 North Carolina beat Robert Morris 103-59 on Sunday.
Marcus Paige added 15 for the Tar Heels (2-0), who for the second straight game jumped to a quick double-digit lead and stayed in control the rest of the way.
UNC scored the first 12 points, led by 18 at halftime then ran off the first 11 after the break to blow the game open.
The Tar Heels spent much of the game shooting around 60 percent before finishing at 51 percent while doing a much better job of pushing the tempo than in Friday's season-opening win against North Carolina Central.
Freshman Marcquise Reed scored 18 of his 24 points in the first half for the Colonials (0-2), who hung around in the first half but had no way to slow the Tar Heels once they got rolling.
That was particularly true of Meeks and Johnson.
UNC coach Roy Williams has talked throughout the preseason about how someone needs to provide reliable inside scoring production to complement the team's deep perimeter. Johnson and Meeks entered the year as the most likely candidates, and Sunday offered a glimpse of their potential to grow into those roles.
Johnson had 15 by halftime and finished 10-for-15 from the field with eight rebounds.
Meeks had 15 points and seven rebounds by the midway point of the opening half and finished 6-for-7 from the field and 9-for-14 from the foul line with 12 rebounds.
Paige, a preseason All-American, also bounced back from a quiet opener with three 3-pointers, while freshman Justin Jackson added 13 points.
Reed was the only player to find a rhythm for Robert Morris, who return three starters from a team that won last year's Northeast Conference regular-season championship.
Preseason all-conference pick Lucky Jones was scoreless without a shot attempt in the opening half. He finished with six points on 2-for-7 shooting before fouling out with 5:50 left.
The game was part of the Battle 4 Atlantis, though tournament play doesn't begin until the night before Thanksgiving.
