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The Daily Tar Heel

UNC junior varsity basketball lights it up from outside in win over Methodist

UNC guard Lucas Bouknight (3) drives down the court on Monday against Methodist University.
UNC guard Lucas Bouknight (3) drives down the court on Monday against Methodist University.

“As soon as you see the first ball go in, it’s on from there,” Bouknight said.

Bouknight’s 24 points led the Tar Heels (3-0), who drained 19 threes as a team en route to a 112-52 blowout of visiting Methodist in the Smith Center to remain undefeated.

After a sprained ankle in the season opener knocked him out of the team’s second game, Bouknight didn’t know how many minutes he’d get Monday. But after head coach Hubert Davis gave him an extended run in the game, Bouknight knew his coach had confidence in him.

“After the first five minutes, I was like ‘OK,’” Bouknight said. “‘You’re OK with me being out here.’”

Bouknight got open often against Methodist’s zone in the first half, as UNC’s passing left gaps outside the zone for open threes.

The Tar Heels made them, but they started getting more efficient shots when they drove and kicked, which led to an improved shooting performance from the outside.

Sophomore Caleb Ellis said that halftime adjustment was key in breaking the zone.

“We were making threes,” he said. “But what we kind of focused on in the second half is driving in those gaps and kicking.”

Davis said the team’s prolific performance from behind the arc was a new development from previous outings.

“We shot the ball really well from the outside,” Davis said. “That was an area that we (previously) struggled with.”

Seven Tar Heels made a three against the Monarchs, with four players draining multiple 3-pointers. Davis said such a shooting performance would help the team going forward, even if UNC can’t match the total number of threes it made on Monday.

“We run the ball really well, and we drive the ball really well.” Davis said. “And with that shooting, it gives us more spacing in the half court and just makes us better in half-court situations.”

Twenty-nine Tar Heel assists set up the hot shooting, as the team whipped the ball around the court on fast breaks and in half-court sets to get high-percentage shots.

Bouknight said the family atmosphere of the team led to teammates setting each other up all afternoon.

“The thing about this team is that we’re all genuinely friends out here,” Bouknight said. “So it’s not, ‘Oh, I’ve got a shot and I see somebody, but I want to take this shot.’ It’s, ‘How can I set my teammates up better?’”

Davis hopes that level of camaraderie powers his team the rest of the season.

“I want them to enjoy themselves,” he said. “I want them to work hard. And I want them to just continue to get better.”

@sjdoughton

sports@dailytarheel.com

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