UNC Basketball: Strong second half powers Tar Heels past Elon

It was another sluggish start for the UNC Basketball program at home against an opponent that entered this with just two wins in Elon. But in the end, the Tar Heels left the Dean Dome with an 80-63 win.

The Phoenix hung with UNC for most of the first half, keeping it close or even being tied with just over four minutes to go as the Dean Dome crowd got a bit antsy. But a strong second half helped power the Tar Heels to their fourth-straight win as they are starting to build some momentum.

Forward Garcia Dawson and guard Caleb Love led the way with 22 points each to power the Tar Heels in this one. Garcia got his on 6 of 12 shooting including 2 of 4 from the three-point line. The sophomore also grabbed 7 rebounds in the game.

Love scored his 22 on 7 of 14 shooting including 4 of 7 from the three-point line as his big season continues on.

After taking a 37-29 lead into halftime thanks to a late 6-0 spurt in the first half, the Tar Heels opened things up and outscored the Phoenix 34-34 in the second half. Backed by Caleb Love and Garcia’s effort, UNC showed improvement in that second half and answered the call. They avoided a let down ahead of next week’s big matchup vs. UCLA and looked a lot better.

At one point in the second half, UNC jumped out to a 54-37 lead which was their biggest of the night and had the Dean Dome rocking.

While Elon is one of the worst defensive teams in the nation, UNC took advantage especially in the second half. They didn’t let the Phoenix hang around too long and imposed their will with that strong second half.

R.J. Davis added 11 as he was the only other scorer for UNC in double digits. Armando Bacot finished the game with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 4 steals.

UNC is now 7-2 on the year and will take on Furman on Tuesday before playing UCLA next Saturday.

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