North Carolina, which managed just one three pointer in an epic fail against Kentucky, bounced back against Appalachian State with seven in 16 attempts while holding the visitors to just four of 30 on the way to a 70-50 victory. (12/21)

The Tar Heels, who led 35-27 at the half, started pulling away in the second half. A 12-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back threes by Kerwin Walton, put the Heels in control at 58-35. It never got closer than 19 while the lead stretched briefly to 25 late in the game.

"Kervin gave life to our team," UNC coach Hubert Davis said. "The whole team lit up when he hit that first shot. I felt like he lifted the whole building."

Walton, who was a key shooter for Carolina last year, has struggled most of the season so far. He's lost playing time and didn't even get into this game until the second half.

Armando Bacot, who led Carolina's scoring with 16 points - mostly dunks or follow shots, said Walton can be a key to the Tar Heels as they get into the meat of the ACC schedule Dec. 29 at home against Virginia Tech.

"If Kerwin can get rolling, we can be a scary team," Bacot said. "You'll see a lot more of Kerwin in the new year."

We didn't see quite as much of Caleb Love as we usually do as he was saddled with foul trouble in the second half and committed six turnovers. He did score 11 however and led the team in assists with five.

Backcourt mate R.J. Davis picked up some of the slack with 15 points while Brady Manek had the first double-double as a Tar Heel with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

Coach Davis pointed to defense in the second half as the catalyst for getting the Tar Heels moving on offense. "I'm happy as far as the defensive standpoint, particularly in the second half," he said. "We did a better job boxing out and rebounding."

North Carolina, now 9-3, host Virginia Tech Wednesday, Dec. 29.

Box Score

UNC's Kerwin Walton came off the bench in the second half to hit a pair of threes that fired up the team. (UNC Sports Information photo)