North Carolina had a tough time at Hawaii in a game that ended at 3 a.m. eastern time but the Tar Heels did show balanced scoring to top Hawaii 83-68 (11/18).

Still, UNC coach Williams was a bit angry (or hu hu in Hawaiian) after the game. "We've got 48 hours before we play again so that should be good for the legs but tomorrow's practice is not going to be good for the legs," he said.

While Carolina came out cold, Coach Williams was more referring to working on defense as he said the Tar Heels had to "care more" defensively.

UNC trailed only once at 2-0 and worked the lead up to 12 in the first half after Isaiah Hicks, who led the Heels with 16 points, got loose for two inside to go up 30-18.

Hawaii cut the margin to three later in the first half before Carolina settled for a 35-27 halftime lead despite shooting just 33 percent from the floor.

The home team cut the Carolina lead to three again early in the first half but the Heels went on a 12-2 run highlighted by a Seventh Woods three and a Kenny Williams triple.

Up 52-39, the score never got closer than eight the rest of the way. When it did get to 66-58, Nate Britt hit a three from the left wing with 5:34 left to keep Hawaii at bay.

A nifty pass from Joel Berry to Justin Jackson for a bucket gave Carolina its biggest lead at 81-63 with 1:29 left.

It was a struggle for Berry, who came into the game averaging 21 points per game in the first three games of the season. Berry managed just one bucket on nine attempts, including missing five three pointers and turning the ball over four times.

Coach Williams didn't seem worried with Berry's play, saying it was just a bad day for him. Besides he liked that five other players scored in double figures and the team came back to shoot 64 percent in the second half.

After Hicks' 16 points, Britt and Kennedy Meeks scored 13 each while Jackson scored 11 and Tony Bradley chipped in 10 to go with 13 rebounds.

The taller, bigger Heels outrebounded Hawaii 43-26 and got numerous second-chance points.

Noah Allen led Hawaii with 22 points.

Carolina moves to 4-0 and plays Chaminade Monday in the first round of the Maui Invitational Tournament.

Box Score