Tar Heels Close Out Elon With 21-5 Run To Win Opener, 90-76

Monday, November 4

Chapel Hill

9 PM

North Carolina

1-0,0-0ACC

Elon

0-1,0-0CAA

Elon

North Carolina

RJ Davis

Photo by: ANTHONY SORBELLINI

November 4, 2024 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—Ninth-ranked North Carolina protected the ball and closed the game on a 21-5 run to blitz past Elon, 90-76, in the 2024-25 season opener for both teams.

After the Phoenix outscored UNC, 14-0, in just under four minutes to take a 71-69 lead, Carolina struck back to overwhelm Elon, 21-5, in the final 6:35 of the game.

Carolina committed six turnovers, its fewest in a season opener since turnovers officially became a stat in the late 1970s. The previous low was seven in 2017-18 (vs. Northern Iowa) and 1997-98 (vs. Middle Tennessee State).

RJ Davis, Elliot Cadeau, Seth Trimble and Jae'Lyn Withers all had strong efforts for the Tar Heels.

Davis, the nation's only consensus first-team All-America from 2023-24 to return to college basketball in 2024-25, scored a game-high 24 points while also dominating with seven rebounds, seven assists and zero turnovers. He shot 7 for 7 from the free throw line.

"It was an ugly win, but a win is a win," Davis said afterward. "This is something that we go watch and improve on. Elon is a good team. They were able to make it tough for us, especially in the second half when they came back to tie the game. Definitely room for improvement."

Sophomore point guard Cadeau hit 3 of 4 three-point attempts and scored 17 points, adding a game-high eight assists.

Trimble continued to build on his strong 2024-25 preseason by scoring 15 points while hitting 3 of 4 three-point attempts.

""From the three years I have been here, we kind of start off every season like this...scrappy wins against mid major teams, even high majors," Trimble explained. "We just have to build from it. We're right back at it tomorrow."

Withers posted a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. "Definitely a lot to improve upon," he said. "We for sure need to work on the small details. The little things are going to be the biggest thing that we need to fix."

As a team, Carolina forced 16 turnovers while committing just six. Despite just a slight rebounding edge at 43-40, the Tar Heels dominated second-chance points, 22-8.

UNC shot just 40 percent as a team but were better collectively from three-point distance at 40.6 percent (13 for 32).

Six different Tar Heels hit three-pointers, including three each from Davis, Cadeau and Trimble. Withers was 2 for 3 from long range, and freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell both hit their first career three pointers in their collegiate debuts.

"This really gives us a blueprint of things we have done well, but also things that we need to work on," head coach Hubert Davis said in his postgame press conference. "I'm really excited at working at that and looking at things we need to improve."