Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks each scored over 20 points as the North Carolina Tar Heels routed the Robert Morris Colonials 103-59 on Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill.
Johnson finished with 23 and Meeks added 21 as the duo combined to dominate the Colonial’s zone defense attack.
"I thought last year those guys [Johnson and Meeks] had some good games, some really good games, every now and then," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. "But it's got to be on a consistent basis like Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Tyler Hansbrough, Sean May. Those guys give it you every night."
All-American candidate Marcus Paige chipped in 15 points for North Carolina after being held to only 8 in the team’s season debut against North Carolina Central on Friday. Freshman Justin Jackson tallied 13 points in his second consecutive start.
The story of the night, however, was the Tar Heels’ crisp ball movement against the RMU zone defense. Led by J.P. Tokoto, UNC was able to make extra passes and attack holes in the Colonials’ defense. As a team, the Tar Heels had 29 total assists led by Tokoto’s ten.
North Carolina jumped out to an early 12-0 lead as was never challenged by Robert Morris, the regular season Northeast Conference champions last season. The Heels’ defense limited the Colonials to only 36% shooting on the night and took an 18-point lead into halftime.
The Colonials lone bright spot was Marcquise Reed, who scored a game high 24 points on 10-15 shooting. Lucky Jones, a returning all-conference performer, was limited to only 6 points and fouled out of the game as a non-factor.
North Carolina will enjoy a few days off and will play Davidson in Charlotte on Saturday.