Men's Basketball Southern Conference

Davidson Falls at North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - It was the battle of the long ball. And North Carolina won. The North Carolina Tar Heels connected on 13 three-pointers to top the Davidson Wildcats, 79-64, on Wednesday evening in the Dean Smith Center. The 13 trifectas bested the team's previous high mark of 10 this season. Davidson dropped to 7-4 overall, while Carolina improved to 9-4 this year.

The Wildcats were led by senior Wayne Bernard with 20 points in the effort. Freshman Brendan Winters also dropped in 10 points, the only other Wildcat in double figures. The game was Winters' fifth straight double-digit performance. Freshman Ian Johnson led the team in rebounding with eight and added nine points on 4-of-8 from the floor.

Carolina had four individuals with 10-plus points. Rookie Rashad McCants had 19 points, including four three-pointers. Sophomore Melvin Scott had a season-high 15 points on 5-of-7 from long range.

Long-range shooting set the tone of the game early. Down 6-2 in the early going, Davidson hit three consecutive three-pointers to take the 11-6 lead. The teams traded several treys and the game was knotted at 20 with just under eight minutes to play. From there, the long ball seemed to belong to UNC. Four of the next six Tar Heel baskets came from three-point land.

"The first seven minutes, we did exactly what we wanted to," said Davidson head coach Bob McKillop. "We had the right people shooting the three-pointers. Then eventually (Rashad) McCants hits a three-pointer and (Melvin) Scott hits another one and they go on little runs here and there. It took us out of our rhythm."

Davidson was cold from the field, shooting 32 percent, its worst performance in the first half since the St. Bonaventure contest in which the Bonnies led by 12 at the half. North Carolina took a 17-point advantage into the locker room, connecting on 6-of-6 from the free throw line to end the half.

"Our defense was key," said UNC head coach Matt Doherty. "We needed to hold them from long range. Holding Peter Anderer to only nine points and drawing fouls was the way we won this game."

The second half was much of the same. Davidson couldn't get a good look from three-point land, a credit to the North Carolina defense. The Heels came out and hit three early trifectas, drilling their season-high tying 10th of the game with 13:36 to play. Davidson was never able to come closer than 15 points and Carolina got back to its winning ways with the 79-64 victory.

Davidson shot under 40 percent for only the third time this season. Each of those performances have resulted in a Wildcat loss.

The 'Cats will look to rebound from the loss when they return to conference play against Western Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 11 at Belk Arena. The game is scheduled to tip at 3 p.m. North Carolina also returns to conference play on Saturday. The Heels will battle Virginia at noon.