HONOLULU (AP) — R.J. Davis scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half and No. 10 North Carolina pulled away from Hawaii 87-69 on Friday night.
Elliot Cadeau had 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting, Seth Trimble scored 11 of his 13 points after halftime and Ian Jackson added 11 for the Tar Heels (3-1).
Davis, an All-American guard, moved into fourth place on North Carolina’s all-time career scoring list. He overtook Sam Perkins with his free throw at the 11:59 mark of the first half.
Gytis Nemeiksa led Hawaii with 16 points and had 10 rebounds. Akira Jacobs made three 3-pointers and scored 13 points off the bench. Tanner Christensen had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Marcus Green added 10 points for the Rainbow Warriors (4-1).
North Carolina never trailed and led by as many as 21.
Takeaways
North Carolina: Despite being outrebounded 40 to 27, the Tar Heels turned it over just five times and limited Hawaii to five points off turnovers.
Hawaii: The Rainbow Warriors used a 12-4 run late in the first half to make it a one-possession game at 35-32 but weren’t able to overcome its cold perimeter shooting (8 of 23 on 3-pointers).
Key moment
Hawaii cut North Carolina’s lead to 41-36 with Christensen’s bucket 27 seconds into the second half, but Jalen Washington ignited a 19-4 run for the Tar Heels with his answer on the other end. Drake Powell’s easy basket inside, off an assist from Washington, capped the run and stretched it back to a 60-40 cushion.
Key stat
North Carolina was dominant in transition and outscored Hawaii in fast-break points 19 to 1.
Up next
North Carolina takes part in the Maui Invitational and will open against Dayton on Monday while Hawaii hosts Division II Hawaii Pacific on Tuesday.
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