UNC Basketball Moments After – UNC vs. Elon 90-76 Win
UNC Tar Heels Basketball Team Holds Off the Elon Phoenix in Their Regular Season Home Opener
by Derrick Clyburn
The North Carolina basketball team faced off against Elon in the first regular season game at home. The Phoenix started the game playing zone and aggressively shooting 3-pointers. They used their large frontcourt with 7’4 Matthew Van Komen in the middle to protect the paint and clog the lane from easy baskets. The Tar Heels used their speed and athleticism to negate the size of the Phoenix with eight first-half 3-pointers. Led by Elliott Cadeau, Seth Trimble, and Jae’Lyn Withers with two each. North Carolina also attacked their zone with alley-oops and pick-n-roll dunks. UNC would take a 51-39 halftime lead.
In the second half, the game would go back in forth with Elon hitting tough shots keeping the game within striking distance. The Tar Heels would get a little sloppy and allow Elon to take a two-point lead with 7 minutes to play. North Carolina would then go on a 21-5 run to end the game with RJ Davis scoring 19 points in the second half to break the game open. UNC would go on to win 90-76. The Tar Heels had four players in double figures led by RJ Davis 24 points 7 rebounds and 7 assists.
UNC Game Stats
| 1 | 2 | T | |
| Elon 0-1 | 39 | 37 | 76 |
| 9 North Carolina 1-0 | 51 | 39 | 90 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| R. Davis | 24 | 7 | 7 | 7/18 | 3/10 | 7/7 | 1 | 34 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| E. Cadeau | 17 | 3 | 8 | 4/7 | 3/4 | 6/8 | 1 | 31 | 3 | 2 | 3 |
| S. Trimble | 15 | 2 | 3 | 6/12 | 3/4 | 0/1 | 1 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| J. Withers | 10 | 10 | 1 | 4/10 | 2/3 | 0/0 | 2 | 23 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| J. Washington | 8 | 4 | 1 | 4/7 | 0/1 | 0/0 | 3 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| I. Jackson | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2/7 | 1/4 | 0/0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Powell | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2/8 | 1/2 | 0/0 | 1 | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| V. Lubin | 4 | 7 | 0 | 2/4 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 2 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| C. Tyson | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1/6 | 0/3 | 0/0 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J. Brown | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| E. Davis | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| R. Hawkins | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Holbrook | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| D. Mayo Jr. | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T. Claude | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 90 | 37 | 22 | 32/79 | 13/31 | 13/16 | 13 | – | 11 | 7 | 6 |
| Starters | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| N. Dorn | 17 | 4 | 1 | 6/12 | 5/10 | 0/1 | 2 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S. Sherry | 15 | 8 | 0 | 6/11 | 2/4 | 1/2 | 2 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| T. Simpkins | 14 | 2 | 3 | 4/12 | 2/8 | 4/4 | 1 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| A. King | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1/7 | 0/1 | 1/2 | 1 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| M. Van Komen | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Bench | PTS | REB | AST | FG | 3PT | FT | PF | MIN | STL | BLK | TO |
| T. Simpkins | 18 | 5 | 3 | 6/12 | 1/3 | 5/5 | 1 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| I. Harrell | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2/4 | 2/2 | 0/0 | 1 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| B. Crump | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1/1 | 1/1 | 0/0 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| K. Campbell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0/2 | 0/0 | 0/0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| D. Smart | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| A. Williams | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| O. Luessenhop | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| N. Hull | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| S. Taylor | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| J. Rideout | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T. O’Neil | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Total | 76 | 36 | 11 | 26/61 | 13/29 | 11/14 | 13 | – | 4 | 5 | 14 |
UNC Bright Spots
RJ Davis had 24 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals.
Elliot Cadeau had 17 points, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks.
Seth Trimble had 15 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals.
Jae’Lyn had 10 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, and 2 steals.
Needs Work
This is the first regular-season game. The Tar Heels need to keep the pressure on the opponent’s defense by attacking the basket strong and finishing plays. They need to stay focused and make the easy play when they have control of the game.
Final Observations
North Carolina is 1-0 on the season and they had a good test against an in-state Elon team with nothing to lose. The Phoenix has a big frontcourt featuring 6th-year senior 7’4 Matthew Van Komen. The size of Elon was a good prep for playing Kansas on Friday night. The Tar Heels showed some glimpses of how fast and athletic they can be on offense. They need to continue to build confidence and chemistry. Coach Davis is implementing 7 new players to go along with the 4 returning. It will take some time to find their identity. The Freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell had some good moments. They will get better every game as they find and get comfortable in their roles. Next up is Kansas on Friday, Nov. 8th at 7 PM on ESPN2.
We have to play better defense. Don’t let the opponents guards penetrate so easily.
Looking forward to the 24-25 basketball season. Could this be the year that UNC cut down the nets twice?