We continue to bring you College Basketball coverage with Phenom Hoops, as we also wanted to check in on the top team in the country, North Carolina, as they took on UNC-Wilmington, a team that has plenty of familiar names with Phenom Hoops on the floor this season.

UNCW came out strong to take the early but North Carolina started to get going and eventually took the lead.  Armando Bacot and RJ Davis led the charge with 19 of the team's 32 points in the first half, but they shot only 37.5 percent from the court.  Give credit to UNCW though in what they were able to throw out and slow down the Tar Heels, as Shyke Phillips led the charge with eight points in the first half. 

North Carolina found themselves up by double-digits, 32-21 after the first.

The Tar Heels were able to come out and continue to expand their lead, but UNC-Wilmington continued to battle and chip away.' The Seahawks eventually cut it to single-digits with two minutes to go but North Carolina was able to maintain a 10-point cushion throughout the second half, eventually taking home the 69-56 victory.

Final: North Carolina 69 ' UNCW 56

North Carolina: RJ Davis 17/ Caleb Love 17/ Armando Bacot 16/ Leaky Black 7
UNCW: Trazarie White 19/ Shyke Phillips 11/ Donovan Newby 10

Player of the Game:

RJ Davis (North Carolina): Though Davis and Caleb Love finished both with 17 points, and Armando Bacot nearly had a double-double (16 points, 9 rebounds), it was Davis that was the guy that seemed to control the ship and make plays consistently. Loved his tempo and pace on the court, his ability to make plays off the bounce and get to the basket, but also hit some key shots.  You can also see that Davis has gotten stronger on the defensive end, as he could really be the key piece for UNC this year.

Thoughts:

  • Credit to UNCW and not allowing North Carolina to play their game, as UNCW held a 16-7 advantage on the offensive boards, eventually allowing them to hold a 14-7 advantage on second-chance points.
  • The trio looked good for North Carolina and Leaky Black and Pete Nance were able to contribute. But what will be really big for the Tar Heels this season will be the production off the bench. In this game, they only had 6 points off the bench and went 2-for-5 from the floor. They will need more production and players to step up.
  • Though Davis was the player of the game, UNCW's Trazarien White is a player to really watch. A 6'6 sophomore made some strong players and was aggressive, especially in the second half. He scored 17 of his 19 points and was able to get on the boards and from the line.