ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Freshman RJ Davis scored 16 points and No. 14 North Carolina overcame an ugly start to beat UNLV 78-51 on Monday night in the first round of the relocated Maui Invitational.Garrison Brooks added 14 points and surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career in the first half for the Tar Heels (2-0), who fell behind 13-0 and didn't score for the first 6 1/2 minutes.
But UNC gradually closed the gap, then had a 28-4 run spanning halftime to build its own big lead on the way to a rout.The Tar Heels got a big contribution from senior reserve Andrew Platek, who had 11 points and hit a pair of first-half 3-pointers as UNC sputtered out of the tipoff.