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North Carolina rolls over Tennessee State

Nov 23, 2011 - 5:36 AM Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) - Reggie Bullock has one mission off North Carolina's bench: score. And he did his damage beyond the arc on Tuesday, draining six treys as part of a career-best 23-point night in the top-ranked Tar Heels' 102-69 blitz of Tennessee State.

Bullock, North Carolina's best reserve scorer, ignited a North Carolina long- range game that made 11 triples. Harrison Barnes scored 16 points, as did John Henson to go along with 10 rebounds and a career-high six assists. Tyler Zeller added 12 points for the Tar Heels (4-0).

"It helps to say the least," North Carolina head coach Roy Williams said. "Everything looks better when the ball goes in the basket. I really believe we have good shooting from the 3-point line with Harrison [Barnes], Reggie [Bullock], P.J. [Hairston], and I really think it's important for us to have that as part of our game."

Kellen Thornton scored 15 points and Kenny Moore added 14, but the duo tallied just two points in the second half. Tennessee State (2-3) scored just 27 points in the final 20 minutes after a 42-point opening half that kept it in the game.

"Well, obviously they [UNC] shot the ball extremely well, especially in the first half. I thought they did so many good things offensively," Tennessee State head coach John Cooper said.

Tennessee State hung around due in large part to seven first-half threes, but once the well dried up, the overmatched Tigers saw a borderline double-digit game turn into a rout. North Carolina went on a 14-0 spurt, igniting a scoring flurry that allowed the Tar Heels to reach at least 100 points for the second straight game.

Moore and Thornton were a combined 11-of-17 in the first half, as Tennessee State used the drive-and-kick style to perfection, hanging with the high- octane Tar Heels for the better part of the half. North Carolina matched those seven triples in the opening half and took a 55-42 lead into the locker room.

The second half was icing on the cake for Bullock, who poured in two threes to post a career-best six for the game. He received several passes from Kendall Marshall, who scored just five points but mustered 15 assists, three off tying Raymond Felton's school record from 2003.

The offensively efficiency was far different than its 101-point output against Mississippi Valley State, as the Tar Heels finished with 32 assists on 41 made baskets and the team made 11-of-18 treys a game after connecting on just 5- of-18.

Wil Peters drained a three to open the second half, slicing the deficit to 55-45 before the home team blitzed the visitors with 14 straight points in not even four minutes. Slams by Zeller and Henson capped the stretch for a 69-45 lead.

The last two of Bullock's treys came about 1 1/2 minutes apart in the latter stages of the second half. The latter of his two threes opened a 92-56 lead, and Williams cleared his bench shortly thereafter.

Game Notes

Marshall has registered 15 assists already three times in 24 career starts. No other UNC player has more than one in a career...Tennessee State shot just 33 percent in the second half...The game was part of the Las Vegas Invitational. The Tar Heels travel west to face South Carolina in the semifinal round on Friday. The Gamecocks already lost to Tennessee State...Tigers forward M.J. Rhett received an emotional surprise before the game when his mother, Stephanie Rhett, returned from serving in Iraq and surprised him.