Friday night/Saturday morning’s game between the North Carolina Tar Heels and Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors required some coffee if you stayed up for it.
But for UNC fans, it was well worth it. After a slow start that included no scoring for the first two minutes of the game, the Tar Heels used a big second half to pull away from the Rainbow Warriors and capture a 87-69 win to begin the trip to Hawai’i.
And a big reason why was having three starters in double figures.
Guard RJ Davis led the way with 18 points for the Tar Heels also dishing out four assists. Fellow guards Elliot Cadeau and Seth Trimble also had big nights as well. Cadeau scored 17 points in the win while Trimble added 13.
All three guards had four assists each.
UNC was able to build their first-half lead into double-digits, but Hawai’i never went away. They used a few different runs to cut the lead down to three at one point.
North Carolina took a 41-34 lead into halftime.
The Tar Heels used a quick 11-0 run in the second half to extend the lead to 52-36 early on. That sparked the Tar Heels’ big second half and was needed after they closed out the first half a bit sluggish.
From there, it was really all Tar Heels in the second half as they out-scored the Rainbow Warriors 46-35 in the final 20 minutes of play. The Tar Heels were in control for that entire second half, never letting Hawai’i get back into the game.
Freshman Ian Jackson finished with 11 points off the bench, playing 19 minutes in his return after missing a game. Jackson provided some much-needed scoring off the bench for UNC including hitting his only three-point attempt of the game.
North Carolina will head to Maui to begin the Maui Invitational on Monday night, facing off against Dayton.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire : UNC basketball takes down Hawai’i
