CHAPEL HILL – Not all openers are easy, even when facing a team picked to finish 12th in the CAA, but that was the case for No. 9 North Carolina on Monday night at the Smith Center.

The Tar Heels’ bouts of impressive spurts coupled with poor defense and struggles against Elon’s zone, and perhaps a drop in intensity sprinkled in, is why they found themselves trailing with 6:48 remaining.

But reigning ACC Player of the Year RJ Davis took over scoring 10 of UNC’s next 16 points as the Tar Heels took control of the game salting away the Phoenix, 90-76, in the season opener for both teams.

Davis led UNC with 24 points as three other Heels were in double figures. Jae’Lyn Withers had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

UNC is 1-0 and plays at Kansas on Friday night.

TV TO – Elon 19, UNC 17 with 11:54 left in the half

UNC 7-19 FGs (3-9 from 3)

Elon 6-10 FGs (4-6 from 3)

Rebs – 9-9 (OR UNC 5-1)

2nd chance pts – UNC 5-0

Pts in paint – UNC 8-4

Fast break pts – UNC 2-0

Davis 2-for-6 (1-3 from 3) – 5 pts, 2 assists

Notes: Elon went into a 2-3 zone and it gave UNC trouble. The Heels were stagnant, didn’t move to get open, lots of dribbling by RJ Davis, though a nice roll to the rim got him an easy bucket.

TV TO – UNC 32, Elon 21 with 7:43 left in the half

UNC 12-27 FGs (5-12 from 3)

Elon 7-16 FGs (4-9 from 3)

Rebs – UNC 15-12 (6-1 OR)

2nd chance pts – UNC 8-0

Fast break pts – UNC 6-0

Pts in paint – UNC 12-6

Blocks – 3-3

Assists – UNC 8-4

TOs – Elon 5-0

Notes: Heels outscored Elon 15-2 in the stretch peeling off 9 quick points in the first 81 seconds of the stint. Drake Powell with 5 points, and a Trimble oop slam from Powell after a Lubin block highlighted the segment.

TV TO – UNC 42, Elon 31 with 3:50 left in the half

UNC 16-35 FGs (7-16 from 3)

Elon 10-25 FGs (6-13 from 3)

Rebs – UNC 20-16 (7-3 OR)

2nd chance pts – UNC 8-3

Bench pts – UNC 12-0

Pts off TOs – UNC 4-3

Withers 10 pts, Trimble 9, Cadeau 6 (7 assists), 5 each for Jackson, Powell, and Davis, Lubin 2, Tyson and JWash 0 each

Notes: The Heels with a couple of oops in this segment, one from Cadeau to Jackson, which was followed mere seconds later by a Jackson 3, the first of his UNC career. Withers had 8 quick points in the segment as well. On the flip side, Elon scored 10 points in that segment, including a 3 off an offensive rebound,

Halftime: UNC 51, Elon 39

Notes: The Phoenix closed the lead to 44-39 when the Heels closed the half 7-0. The first half, however, was a series of spurts by the Heels, but also some dead periods and so-so defense.

TV TO – UNC 59, Elon 47 with 15:58 left

UNC 22-53 FGs (8-18 from 3)

Elon 16-42 FGs (9-21 from 3)

Rebs – UNC 31-25 (13-7 OR)

2nd chance pts – UNC 14-3

Assists – UNC 16-8 (Cadeau 8)

TOs – Elon 7-1

Pts off TOs – UNC 4-3

9 Heels have played, all but Tyson have scored

Notes: Washington’s first FG came at the 18:19 mark in the half, and in a span of 1:50 he had three FGs, two dunks and a layup. The second dunk came on a feed from Trimble, who pushed it after an Elon 3.

TV TO – UNC 67, Elon 57 with 10:58 left

UNC 24-63 FGs (9-24 from 3)

Elon 19-45 FGs (10-22 from 3)

Rebs – UNC 35-30 (16-7 OR)

2nd chance pts – UNC 17-3

Assists – UNC 18-9

TOs – Elon 10-1

Pts off TOs – UNC 7-3

RJ 3-13 FGs (1-7 from 3) – 5 rebs, 5 assists

Notes: The Heels can’t shake the Phoenix in part because of defensive issues, but they are again having trouble against the zone. Cadeau has been in the middle of its during the most recent segment. Cade Tyson’s first FG as a Tar Heel came at 12:18.

***Under 8 TV TO took place during one of the reviews and was not announced as such.

Notes: The poor defense and wobbly and sometimes-chaotic offense continued in this segment, as the Heels missed more layups while Elon converted on the other end. In fact, the Phoenix cut the margin to 5 points at 69-64 with 8:27 left after a 9-0 run. Elon kept the ball after a foul on UNC and scored on a driving layup cutting it to 3.

TV TO – UNC 80, Elon 71 with 3:29 left

Cadeau 15 pts, 8 assists, 4 rebs

Davis 19 pts, 7 rebs, 6 assists

Trimble 12 pts, 1 reb, 3 assists

JWash 8 pts, 4 rebs, 1 assist

Withers 10 pts, 10 rebs, 1 assist

Powell 5 pts, Jackson 5 pts, Lubin 4 pts, Tyson 2 pts

Notes: Elon’s run reached 14-0 (in a span of 4:10) and a 71-69 lead with 6:48 left. But Davis converted tying the game, Withers blocked a shot on the other end leading to a Davis 3 and a 74-71 UNC lead as Elon called timeout.

Last 3:29 – Final: UNC

The Heels continued pulling away finishing with a 3-pointer by Seth Trimble giving him a career-high 15 points.