Postgame Notes
North Carolina 97, McNeese State 63
- Tar Heels are now 9-3 overall and 6-0 at the Smith Center.
- Sophomore guard P.J. Hairston led all scorers with a career-high 20 points. His previous best was 19 against South Carolina in Las Vegas on Nov. 25, 2011.
- Hairston made 7 of 8 free throws today and is now 30 for 34 from the line this season (a team-leading 88.2 percent).
- Freshman point guard Marcus Paige had a season-high nine assists and played his first game in which he did not commit a turnover.
- Junior Reggie Bullock had 17 points, the fifth straight game in which he scored in double figures. He made a season-high five three-pointers, one off his career best.
- The Tar Heels made 13 three-pointers, equaling their second-highest total of the season and the most since they made 13 against Chaminade. UNC had made only nine threes in the previous two combined games against East Carolina (6 of 14) and Texas (3 of 19).
- Carolina had assists on 18 of 20 field goals in the first half and 29 of 35 for the game. Five different players had at least three, led by nine from Marcus Paige and six from Dexter Strickland.
- Carolina breaks for Christmas. The teams returns for practice on Dec. 27thand plays next Saturday at 2 p.m. against UNLV.
