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No. 24 North Carolina drops UNC Greensboro

Dec 17, 2014 - 4:38 AM Greensboro, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Kennedy Meeks netted 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting to lead No. 24 North Carolina in a 79-56 rout of UNC Greensboro on Tuesday.

Joel James scored 11 points off the bench, Brice Johnson finished with eight points and five rebounds and Justin Jackson chipped in seven points for the Tar Heels (7-3), who rebounded from an 84-70 loss to Kentucky on Saturday.

Kayel Locke paced the Spartans (4-7) with 17 points, while Diante Baldwin and Nicholas Paulos scored 13 and 12, respectively, in the loss.

"I didn't think we played well tonight," Spartans head coach Wes Miller said. "We didn't score early and that affected us. We got frustrated and got away from the team we want to be on every possession."

The Tar Heels dominated from the outset. James and Isaiah Hicks each threw down dunks for a 14-2 advantage prior to a UNCG timeout nearly seven minutes in, then a triple from Joel Berry II pushed the advantage to 23-4 midway through the first half.

Paulos hit a 3 and Baldwin's jumper with two seconds to play capped a 7-1 stretch, but the Spartans still trailed 40-19 at halftime.

North Carolina shot 15-for-31 (48.4 percent) from the floor over the first 20 minutes, while UNCG shot 8-for-29 (27.6 percent), including just 1-for-10 from beyond the arc.

The Tar Heels continued their strong play in the second half, where they led by as much as 32 points down the stretch.

Game Notes

North Carolina finished with a 48.4 shooting percentage, while UNCG finished 35.7 percent from the floor ... The Tar Heels are now 2-0 against the Spartans. North Carolina also won 81-50 on Dec. 7, 2013 ... Miller and assistant Jackie Manuel were teammates on the 2005 NCAA championship Tar Heel team under head coach Roy Williams ... North Carolina will travel to Chicago to play No. 12 Ohio State in a neutral site game for the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday.