Tar Heels Fly Pass Golden Eagles 108-58

CHAPEL HILL, NC – The North Carolina Tar Heels won its 200th non-conference win in the Dean E. Smith Center (200-16) with a 58-108 victory over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles in their first matchup in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational.

Junior Guard, Corey Tillery, for the Golden Eagles scored a layup for the first basket of the game. The Golden Eagles’ had a three point lead on the Tar Heels at the 18:53 mark in the first half, however, a 7-0 run for the Tar Heels put them up 10-3 heading into the first media timeout with 15:41 left in the half.

The Tar Heels guarded the Golden Eagles tightly and caused seven turnovers for the Golden Eagles with 11:45 left in the first half. However, the Golden Eagles managed to make all of their last four shots and the score was 14-21.

At the 5:55 mark in the first half, a pair of free throws by Tar Heel senior forward, Luke Maye, sparked a 15-2 scoring until the last media timeout with 1:34 left in the first half. During that span the Golden Eagles had 3 turnovers.

Golden Eagles’ freshman guard, Jared Sherfield, made a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the half to make the game 26-50 at halftime. The halftime score for theTar Heels reminded head coach, Roy Williams, of the their second half performance against Standford last time out.

“I was thinking about how we played so poorly in the second half Monday night when I walked off the court, that was the first time I had looked at the clock,” Williams said “And tonight I waked off the court and it was 50-26. So we did remind them at halftime about how poorly we played in the second half Monday night”

Early In the second half junior guard, Seventh Woods, stole the show with his pinpoint passing. He checked into the game with 17:56 left in the half and assisted on three baskets. The Tar heels were leading 67-30 with 15:23 left in the half.

Everyone in the Dean E. Smith Center held their breath for a second when senior guard, Kenny Williams, went down with an ankle injury. He was helped off the court and taken back to the locker room with 7:54 left in the game and he would not return.

“Yeah I told him he laid on the floor and he’s flopping around on the floor like a dead fish and he’s in there fine right now,” Williams said. “He scared me there’s no question. But he stepped on somebody’s foot and he was in pain but he’s fine right now…I would expect he would be ready to go by Monday.”

With the health of Williams in question and a 43-83, the Tar Heels outscored the Golden Eagles 11-8 and made the score 51-94 heading in the last media timeout with 3:57 left in the game

The Tar Heels finished game on a 7-0 over the last 1:11. Moreover, an emphatic dunk by sophomore guard, K.J. Smith, and an errant pass out-of-bounds by sophomore guard, Maverick Smith, for the Golden Eagles ended the game.

14 different players scored for the Tar Heels. Luke Maye lead the way with a team-high of 15 points from 6-9 (0-3 3FG) shooting.

“Everybody played with energy and we played a lot better defensively in the second half,” Maye said. “That was a big improvement from Monday. We were focusing on playing a full game and staying mentally into it.”

Woods finished the game with eight assists, which set a career-high for him. His seven points were also the most points he has scored since last year’s season opener for the Tar Heels against Northern Iowa.

“It’s definitely a confidence builder,” Woods said. “Just trying to build off that every way possible and realizing I still have to get better on both ends of the court.

What’s Next 

The Golden Eagles (0-4, 0-0 OVC) travel to East Lansing to face Michigan State in their next matchup in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational on November 18.

The Tar Heels (4-0, ACC) will host St. Francis (PA) on November 19 in their next matchup in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational.