ASHEVILLE—North Carolina overcame a slow start and recovered to defeat UNLV, 78-51, on Monday night in the first round of the Maui Invitational at the Harrah's Cherokee Center.
After trailing 13-0 in the opening minutes, Carolina (2-0) outscored UNLV (0-2) by a 78-38 margin the rest of the way to put the outcome out of reach early in the second half.
UNLV raced out to a 13-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game, forcing the Tar Heels to play catch up from the outset. UNC responded quickly, however, and took its first lead with 3:22 left in the first half on a drive by RJ Davis to go ahead, 29-27.