Trailing much of the game, North Carolina needed four late three-pointers from sophomore guard R.J. Davis to avert an upset bid by Brown of the Ivy League, 94-87 at home. (11/12)

Down 77-75, Carolina took the lead with 6:52 left when Davis sank a three from the right wing. Less than a minute later, Davis drained a three from right in front of the Tar Heel bench to extend the lead to 81-77.

After Brown cut the deficit to one possession, Davis popped in another three with 1:35 left to put Carolina up 88-82.

The Bears didn't back down as Dan Friday, who led Brown with 21 points, drilled an open three to pull within three at 88-85 with 1:10 left.

Davis' sixth triple of the game and the fourth in six minutes, put the Heels back up by six with 45 seconds left and all but ended Brown's hopes of winning.

"My confidence is a lot higher than last year," Davis said. "I put in a lot of work in the offseason."

He said he trusted his shot and his teammates found him. "We got stops in the second half and executed on offense," he said.

Four players scored in double figures for the Tar Heels with Davis leading the way with a career-high 26 points. Before Davis inserted the dagger, Armando Bacot drew it as he hit 10 of 11 shots for 22 points and 10 rebounds. Brady Manek had 14 points while Caleb Love added 13, including five free throws late in the game.

Coach Hubert Davis said he wasn't concerned about the offense. "We can score with anybody in the country," Coach Davis said. "It's defense. Can we become a great defensive team."

It didn't look like it in the first half when Brown hit eight of its first 10 shots and led 50-47 at the break.

"We've got to get better defensively," Coach Davis said. "I felt like we were panicking." He added that his club can learn from this game and that he was proud of how the defense improved in the second half."

There were nine ties and 13 lead changes during the game. With 12 minutes to go, Brown held a six-point lead. But after a TV timeout, UNC's Dawson Garcia scored six of his seven points over the span of about a minute and half to keep Brown from pulling away.

It went back and forth until Davis sank that first of four straight threes to put the Heels up for good at 78-77.

The Tar Heels, who move to 2-0, play the College of Charleston Tuesday night.

Box Score

R.J. Davis led Carolina with 26 points including six three-pointers, four of which came in the last few minutes against Brown. (UNC Sports Information photo by Jeffrey A. Camarati.)