James Michael McAdoo scored 18 points for the North Carolina Tar Heels and the defense held the Long Beach State 49ers to 37 percent shooting in The Pyramid as Roy Williams' squad cruised in the second half to a 78-63 victory.
No. 11 North Carolina vs. Long Beach State final score: Tar Heels ride second-half spurt to 78-63 win
The North Carolina Tar Heels used a second-half push and sound defense to drop Long Beach State on the road.
Grant Halverson
McAdoo added eight boards while Marcus Paige, Brice Johnson and P.J. Hairston all scored in double-figures for UNC despite the team shooting just 40 percent from the floor.
Wing James Ennis led LBSU with 18 points, and sophomore Mike Caffey added 14 while struggling from the floor and hitting 5 of 21 shot attempts.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, and neither team led by more than six points. Long Beach State built a 31-25 lead with two minutes remaining in the first half, but the Tar Heels reeled off a 8-1 run -- all on dunks or layups -- to have a 33-32 lead at the half.
In the second half, UNC used one of their patented spurts to pull away. The Tar Heels led, 45-43, at the first media timeout after halftime, but went on a 14-2 run to go ahead by 14. The 49ers never trimmed their deficit below double-digits.
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