• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Tar Heels take down Norse

Dec 28, 2013 - 5:08 AM Chapel Hill, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - James Michael McAdoo poured in 14 points to lead the No. 19 North Carolina Tar Heels to a 75-60 win over the Northern Kentucky Norse.

Leslie McDonald and Marcus Paige netted 11 points apiece while the latter added nine rebounds for North Carolina (9-3), which has won five of its last six.

"We were not sharp to say the least," UNC head coach Roy Williams said of his squad. "I don't think we had the intensity and the concentration level that we needed to have."

Tyler White scored 13 and Jalen Billups added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Norse (4-8), who will face Florida Gulf Coast on Monday. Jordan Jackson and Jack Flournoy contributed 10 points apiece.

"We've struggled to get out of the gate, and we did again tonight and then again in the second half," Northern Kentucky head coach Dave Bezold said.

North Carolina began the first 6:39 of the contest with a 14-2 run. The teams traded baskets until Northern Kentucky went on a 9-2 burst with 7:10 left in the half to pull within five at 28-23.

That spurt by Northern Kentucky was a piece of a larger surge. The Norse trailed, 24-10, with 9:27 left in the half and went on a 20-11 run, which brought the score to 35-30 before the teams headed to the locker room.

In the first 5:13 of the second half, the Tar Heels went on an 8-1 run to put them ahead 43-31. They began a 12-3 run just 1:44 later to put them up 16, 56-40, with 9:24 to play.

The Tar Heels held at least a 12-point advantage the rest of the way.

Game Notes

The Norse have lost their last three contests against ranked opponents ... North Carolina went 6-for-14 from behind the arc, while the Norse shot 5- for-23 ...J.P. Tokoto and Brice Johnson added nine points apiece for North Carolina.