CHAPEL HILL, S.C. – #9 North Carolina defeated Charleston Southern in their nonconference finale on Friday night from the Smith Center by a final score of 105-60. This marked the Bucs' fourth Power 5 opponent of the year as well as their third ACC foe.
The Tarheels and Buccaneers battled back and forth in the opening minutes of the game heading into the first media timeout. The Bucs brought it back even at seven apiece in the first three minutes. The Tarheels were able to score 14 unanswered points soon after to stretch out their lead and get in control early. Going into the half, the score stood at 51-28.
In the second half, the Buccaneers were able to string together multiple high-quality possessions, but the Tarheels continued to show their ability to score at all levels. They outscored CSU by a score of 54-32 in the final 20 minutes of action.
Charleston Southern was led offensively by
A'lahn Sumler as he finished with 21 on the evening. In the second half he scored 16 converting on four shots from deep, five total on the night.
DJ Patrick joined him in double figures as he finished with 11, scoring most of his early in the action. Each starter also contributed to that end of the floor as
Reginald Duhart Jr. and
RJ Johnson each had eight while
Taje' Kelly finished with six.
Kelly led the team in rebounding as he collected seven. Johnson had the team-high in assists with three.
In total, the team made ten shots from three-point range, the first time this season they had reached double digits in the stat for back-to-back games this year.
Each starter played 30 minutes or more on the night with Duhart leading all players with 37 minutes played.
RJ Davis lead North Carolina in scoring with 20 while five others for the Heels eclipsed ten points.
Following today, the Buccaneers turn their attention to Big South action with the league's double round-robin slate to begin in the new year. Their conference opener will be Wednesday, January 3 at 7 p.m. from inside the Buc Dome with CSU playing host to Presbyterian.
