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Off the cuff: I'm sure there are a lot of Carolina fans out there that enjoyed that win over Campbell. After all, there was a lot of scoring.

I said before the game that if Carolina didn't win by at least 20, it would be a disappointment. It's even more of a disappointment that Carolina got up by 29 and then won by only 16 points.

The regulars played until the last half minute of the game. And what makes me madder than anything Coach Davis does is to not allow the subs to play. Instead of allowing guys who never get to play to score and possibly getting to 100 points and making the final score more indicative of the game, he had them dribble the game out.

Campbell has never played Carolina before and has no reputation for basketball and came into the game at 5-7. Allowing them to score 81 points, including 32 over the last six-plus minutes is not impressive.

It was good to see RJ Davis shoot well and Eliot Cadeau commit no second-half turnovers and Ian Jackson continue his coming-out party.

Now it's on the ACC play where virtually every team is better than Campbell.

Carolina 97, Campbell 81
Heels get comfortable, uninspiring win

(Photo by UNC Sports Information)

Yes, North Carolina had an expected comfortable win over Campbell and, yes, RJ Davis broke out of a shooting slump but the Tar Heels couldn't hold a 29-point lead over the last seven minutes of the game and settled for a 97-81 home victory over the Camels. (12/29)

The rust showed in the first half for the Tar Heels, who were also playing without Seth Trimble, who got injured in practice this week.

Davis, who passed Marcus Paige for most three pointers in UNC history, hit a three to put Carolina up 12-9 and the Tar Heels never trailed again. But the lead fluctuately around the four to eight-point range until Jalen Washington scored inside at the halftime buzzer to give the Heels at 11-point lead at 40-29.

As the Tar Heels have done all year, they put the foot to the floorboard in the second half getting the lead up to 19 in the first five minutes of the second half. Eliot Cadeau, who had a career-high 12 assists, scored or assisted on the first five Carolina baskets of the second half.

Carolina extended the lead to 29 after Davis made another three after a nifty cross-over dribble and Ian Jackson sank a pair of free throws which made it 78-49 with 6:53 to go.

That's when things got NBA like as the Tar Heels coasted while the Camels outscored them 32-19 over the last 6:30 of the game.

UNC coach Hubert Davis, as he does often, said that the team will go as far as the defense and rebounding takes them, and that his squad made some defensive mistakes at both the beginning of the game and the end of the game.

Most of Campbell's damage came from beyond the arc with the Camels hitting 10 of 25 with Colby Duggan getting five of them. It was the game of a lifetime for Duggan, who finished with 32 points which is twice his previous career high point total.

The Tar Heels, who put five in double figures, didn't have as much trouble scoring as it did keeping the Camels from scoring.

Carolina, led by freshman Jackson's season-best 26 points, shot the ball well at 57 percent from the floor and 36 percent from three. Davis had perhaps his best shooting performance of the year, finishing with 23 points while hitting five of 10 threes. "He's starting to get his rhythm," Coach Davis said. Cadeau and Drake Powell each finished with 12 points while Washington added 10.

The Tar Heels improve to 8-5 while the Camels fall to 5-8. Carolina travels to Louisville for a conference game on Jan. 1 at 6 p.m.

Box score

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