Jalen Washington scored a career-high 18 points and No. 10 North Carolina enjoyed a big second half to run away from American in a 107-55 victory Friday night at Chapel Hill, N.C.
Elliot Cadeau posted 15 of his 18 points in the first half, while RJ Davis and Seth Trimble each racked up 13 points and reserve Cade Tyson had 11 points for the Tar Heels (2-1).
Washington, a junior forward, shot 6-for-6 from the field, and North Carolina finally got rolling from the perimeter to finish 7-for-22 from 3-point range.
Matt Rogers scored 15 points and reserve Elijah Stephens added 12 points for American (1-3), which fell to 0-3 in road games.
North Carolina began to break away by scoring nine of the first 10 points of the second half for a 52-35 lead.
Then the rout was on as Tyson connected on a 3-pointer after the Tar Heels missed their first 10 attempts from beyond the arc. The Tar Heels hit treys on back-to-back possessions with Trimble’s launch providing a 64-45 advantage.
North Carolina, which hadn’t played since falling 92-89 a week earlier at No. 1 Kansas, led by as many as 12 late in the first half before going to the break with a 43-34 edge.
The Tar Heels went 15-for-19 on first-half free throws, while American didn’t attempt a foul shot. North Carolina missed all six of its attempts from beyond the 3-point prior to halftime.
North Carolina was slow getting untracked but finally went up 23-20 shortly after the midway mark of the first half. Cadeau had 11 points by that juncture.
The teams combined to shoot 19-for-28 from the field through 12 minutes.
The Eagles finally took a free throw 59 seconds into the second half. By then, it was clear American was going to try to accomplish as much as possible from long range as more than half its attempts for the game were 3-pointers. The Eagles finished 7-for-31 (22.6 percent) from beyond the arc.
–Field Level Media
Trey Kaufman-Renn scored a career-best 26 points and collected eight rebounds to lead No. 13 Purdue to an 87-78 triumph over No. 2 Alabama in a Friday night nonconference showdown…
Anthony Edwards scored seven of his 36 points in overtime and the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves overcame De’Aaron Fox’s 60-point performance to beat the Sacramento Kings 130-126 in an NBA Cup…
Buddy Hield had a team-high 18 points and 10 teammates scored at least eight apiece as the Golden State Warriors edged the Memphis Grizzlies 123-118 in an NBA Cup game…
NBA roundup: Kings’ De’Aaron Fox scores 60 in OT loss
Warriors get points from all over lineup in beating Grizzlies
Timberwolves outlast Kings, De’Aaron Fox’s 60 points
After lackluster victory, unbeaten Providence faces Green Bay