National Basketball Association
North Carolina 85, Pittsburgh 60
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 5, 2019
Where: Petersen Events Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Officials:
# Ted Valentine, # Bert Smith, # Paul Szelc
Attendance:
12508
By Field Level Media
Freshman guard Coby White scored 22 points for No. 15 North Carolina as the visiting Tar Heels drubbed Pittsburgh 85-60 in the conference opener for both teams Saturday afternoon at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.
Luke Maye had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Cameron Johnson, a former Pittsburgh player, added 15 points for the Tar Heels (11-3, 1-0), who were never threatened in the second half on the way to their third consecutive victory.
North Carolina improved to 54-12 all-time in Atlantic Coast Conference openers.
Freshman Trey McGowens poured in 17 points and freshman Xavier Johnson had 14 points for Pittsburgh (10-4, 0-1). McGowens scored 10 of his points on foul shots. Malik Ellison chipped in 10 points for the Panthers.
Johnson, a graduate transfer in his second season with the Tar Heels after leaving Pittsburgh, made his first three 3-point attempts. North Carolina didn't visit Pittsburgh last season, so this marked his first time on a visiting team in the building. It was his 39th game in the arena.
White made four 3-point baskets as part of his 8-of-15 shooting. He was the only player on the team to shoot above 50 percent from the field.
Spurred by a 16-0 run, the Tar Heels built a 45-23 halftime lead.
North Carolina withstood some early foul troubles, with Pittsburgh going 10-of-15 on first-half free throws. The Tar Heels used 11 players in the first half, even without sophomore reserve forward Sterling Manley, who missed his second game in a row with a knee injury.
Pittsburgh went 10 1/2 minutes without a field goal, shooting 20.7 percent from the floor in the opening half. The Panthers missed on their first nine attempts from 3-point range and ended up 2-of-19 on 3s.
North Carolina has won the last four meetings with Pittsburgh.
It marked the first ACC game for the Panthers under first-year coach Jeff Capel, a former Duke player and assistant coach. The Panthers didn't win an ACC game last season.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
| North Carolina |
|
Pittsburgh |
|
Coby White 22 |
Scoring |
Trey McGowens 17 |
|
Garrison Brooks 5 |
Assists |
Malik Ellison 2 |
|
Luke Maye 11 |
Rebounds |
Terrell Brown 9 |
|
Luke Maye 4 |
Free Throws Made |
Trey McGowens 10 |
|
Brandon Robinson 3 |
Steals |
Trey McGowens 4 |
|
Garrison Brooks 2 |
Blocks |
Terrell Brown 4 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| North Carolina
|
85 |
43.2 |
10-24 |
11-17 |
24 |
49 |
7 |
8 |
11 |
| Pittsburgh
|
60 |
30.6 |
2-19 |
20-32 |
7 |
37 |
7 |
7 |
15 |
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