Invigorated Tar Heels Demolish Boston College

CHAPEL HILL – North Carolina went small to start Tuesday’s game versus Boston College, and there’s no doubt it had a positive effect on how the Tar Heels played.

Junior wing Cam Johnson started in place of freshman big man Garrison Brooks, and the Tar Heels clearly had an extra skip in their collective steps to start the contest.

But it was a commitment to playing aggressively on both ends of the floor and the glass that was most instrumental in their 96-66 victory over a much-improved BC team at the Smith Center.

“You watch the tape the last two games and we didn't have a high energy level then,” UNC Coach Roy Williams said. “Like I said the focus is we've got to play harder and we've got to play smarter and see if we can get a little more energy than we had the last two games.”

Evidence? How about Luke Maye finally getting back on track scoring 8 points in the first 8:25 of the contest or Johnson grabbing 7 rebounds in the same span. The Heels attacked out of the gate, getting to the rim over and over, and when the Eagles rotated enough defensively, the kick out was there.

Maye had two assists in the first half kicking the ball out to Kenny Williams for 3s. Defensively, UNC (13-4, 2-2 ACC) held BC to two field goals over the first eight minutes, and the glass Carolina opened with a 16-1 advantage that was later 25-4.

The message was sent early, and it was about more than the small lineup.

“It was really helpful because we got the ball moving, we got ourselves moving, and it kind of helped him (Maye) get some layups, starting the game with some layups,” Kenny Williams said.

That opened up a lot of things for the Tar Heels and they took advantage of it. In fact, the only stretch in which the Heels didn’t have full control of their mojo was early in the second half, when a BC (11-6, 2-3) eruption out of the gate cut the margin to 59-51.

But the Tar Heels responded with an 18-2 run capped by two Joel Berry 3-pointers giving the Heels a 77-53 lead with 11:13 left.

For the game, Maye finished with career highs of 32 points and 18 rebounds, Cam Johnson added 14 points and 11 rebounds – the second double-double of his career and first as a Tar Heel - Berry chipped in 13 and Williams ended with 10.

On the glass, UNC dominated to the tune of 58-23, scoring 24 points on 23 offensive boards, and the Heels had 19 fast-break points, four more than in the first three ACC games combined.

“When you lose twice with our coach, it is never going to be easy,” Maye said. “He really challenged us. He challenged us older guys as well. He said we needed to lead, needed to set the tone better for the guys coming off the bench.”

And they did.

Among some other notable changes: Jalek Felton’s first appearance subbing for Joel Berry came 11:22 into the contest and Andrew Platek’s first entry came with 1:06 left in the half.

*Maye’s 32-point performance as the first time since 2012 (Tyler Zeller) that a Tar Heel scored 30 points in the Smith Center

*Johnson’s other double-double in his career was a 17-point, 11-rebound performance last season for Pittsburgh in a 3-point home loss to Virginia Tech.

*Off the bench for the first time in his UNC career, Garrison Brooks finished with 4 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes.