CHAPEL HILL – The final tune up for North Carolina before the ninth-ranked Tar Heels get the season going for real in a week took place Sunday at the Smith Center.

UNC rolled, 127-63, over Division II Johnson C. Smith in a game that included RJ Davis, who did not play in the charity exhibition at Memphis 12 days ago. It also did not include Ty Claude, who is sitting out waiting for an academic issue to get resolved, as we reported more than a week ago.

For UNC Coach Hubert Davis, having the reigning ACC Player of the Year on the court to see his team play with him was needed and a welcome sight.

“It’s always better when you have RJ our there on the floor…,” Carolina’s fourth-year coach said. “It was nice having him out there and having a full roster and being able to go out there and compete.”

Seven Tar Heels scored in double figures, paced by freshman Ian Jackson’s 21 points. Vanderbilt transfer Ven-Allen Lubin finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds. RJ Davis and Seth Trimble added 15 point each, Elliot Cadeau and Jalen Washington tallied 12 each, and Cade Tyson finished with 10.

Carolina shot 62.5% from the field, including 36.8% (7-for-19) from 3-point range. Carolina owned a 54-24 rebounding advantage, even though it was 19-15 at one point. Thus, the Heels outrebounded the Golden Bulls, 35-9 the rest of the way.

Elliot Cadeau handed out eight of UNC’s 20 assists, and the Tar Heels turned over the ball only seven times, a significant number given how much they ran. UNC’s transition game was on point, as the Heels scored 34 fast break points to none for JC Smith.

Carolina led just 25-23 with 8:53 remaining in the first half, but a quick 11-0 spurt triggered an eruption that extended to halftime, as the Heels outscored JCS, 34-11, to finish the half.

The 34 points in the run: RJ Davis 6, Cadeau 3, Trimble 4, Withers 3, Tyson 2, Lubin 4, Washington 6, Jackson 4, Powell 2

"I liked the pace after the 12-minute mark in the first half," Hubert Davis said. "It starts with getting stops and getting rebounds, and we weren't getting stops and weren't getting rebounds. But from that point on, we did a better job of guarding the ball, getting stops, getting rebounds, and that then allowed us to get out in transition. I still think we can play faster, but I did like the pace."

UNC opened the second half outscoring the Golden Bulls, 20-5, to take a 78-39 lead. And they just kept adding to the margin excelling on both ends of the floor. Case in point: From 7:39 left in the contest until 47 seconds remained, the Heels held JC Smith to 1-for-11 from the floor, as they continued challenging possessions.

In the meantime, UNC was on a 26-2 run before JCS scored twice in the final minute. The noteworthiness of this is that Davis’ team competed for all 40 minutes, not wasting the opportunity to get something out of the game.

The Tar Heels formally open the season November 4 at home against Elon. The game tips at 9 PM and will air on the ACC Network.