The Heels won their 3rd game of season against Davidson in Charlotte.
Davidson used a hot shooting start to take a quick advantage against the Heels but Carolina fought back and held a 12 point lead at the half. The Heels in the first half did not change their play style, continuing to rely on the steady supply of big man buckets they've had so far this season. Bryce Johnson an Kennedy Meeks continued their hot start to the season, bullying Davidson on the block. Meeks led the Heels in points and rebounds with a 19 and 12. Marcus Paige continued to shoot well from the field and from three, another encouraging sign for the Heels. Multiple players also made threes in this game, in addition to Paige, Justin Jackson, Nate Britt and Theo Pinson made threes. If the Heels can find one or two more shooters in addition to Paige this team could have one of the best offenses a Carolina team has had in a few seasons.
Free throw shooting was again worrying, particularly from J.P. Tokoto (4-8). The Heels shot only 64% in this game, that will need to improve down the road if they want to compete for the national championship. The Heels played a complete game against a solid team on the road, an encouraging sign with a team this young this early in the season. Justin Jackson had a great game, with 18 points on 70% shooting.
The Heels did most things right this game, they played solid defense, ran the floor on offense and shot the ball well from the field. The Heels need to clean up their game from the foul line and continue to find shooting from non-Marcus Paige player. If the Heels maintain this level of effort while still feeding the big men down low they can go very far this season.
