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The Daily Tar Heel

No. 3 UNC men's basketball defeats Radford 95-50

The North Carolina Tar heels defeated the Radford Highlanders by a final score of 95-50 on Sunday in Chapel Hill.

What happened?

UNC jumped out to a 25-7 lead with 12:48 left in the first half, and it never let Radford climb back into the game. The early run was propelled by the play of Kenny Williams and by a dominant Tar Heel defense that shut down the Highlanders' offensive attack. At one point in the first half, UNC had made six 3-pointers while Radford had taken just eight shots.

Radford settled in, and UNC slowed down as the first half stretched on. At the half, UNC was up 51-27.

In the second half, UNC suffered a scare when Joel Berry went down with a sprained ankle. He left the game with about two and a half minutes into the second half and did not return. Seventh Woods, UNC’s de facto third-string point guard behind Nate Britt, got extended minutes at the one in his place. He did well in the role, committing a few silly turnovers but mostly keeping the Tar Heel offensive engine rolling.

Williams finished as the Tar Heels leading scorer with 19 points. Tony Bradley finished with a double-double, grabbing 11 boards to go with 10 points.

Who stood out?

Kenny Williams came into UNC with a reputation for being a good 3-point shooter, but he struggled in his first season, shooting 1-13 from beyond the arc. His only made three came in the ACC Tournament against Pittsburgh late in the season.

In the first five minutes of the game against Radford, Williams started out on fire. He finished with 16 points in 10 minutes of play in the first half, propelling to the Tar Heels to an early lead.

Williams is getting better each game and is proving to be a real asset for the Tar Heels, whether off the bench or in the starting lineup.

When was it decided?

With 8:53 left in the second half, Tony Bradley was at the line shooting a one-and-one. The first-year, who has struggled with his free throw shooting early on in his career, made both free throws. They put the Tar Heels up 73-41 and allowed Coach Williams to empty the bench, putting Stilman White into the game for the first time.

The Tar Heels played out the final eight minutes comfortably with the big lead in hand.

Why does it matter?

Sunday’s matchup was the first time the Tar Heels took the court since their first loss of the season against Indiana. North Carolina wanted to get that bad taste out of their mouth, and Radford was the unfortunate recipient of the frustration from the loss.

The win also was the first of a three-game homestand for UNC in the Smith Center. Next up for the Tar Heels are Davidson and Tennessee, two good teams that will give North Carolina more trouble than the Highlanders did. This homestand will allow the team to rebuild confidence and momentum before the big matchup against Kentucky on Dec. 17.

Where do they play next?

The Tar Heels play Davidson at home at 9 p.m. on Wednesday in Chapel Hill.

@bauman_john

sports@dailytarheel.com

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