North Carolina, behind hot three-point shooting from Caleb Love, took a lead in the first half on a 20-2 run and never looked back, flustering Marquette and going on to win 95-63 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas. (3\/17) <\/p>\n
Love, who was not happy with Marquette’s physical play, answered his frustration with 21 first-half points on six three pointers to lead the Heels to a commanding 53-25 halftime advantage.<\/p>\n
The Golden Eagles, who weren’t happy with the officiating and Love’s complaints, answered their frustration with three first-half technical fouls – one on head coach Shaka Smart, who also seemed to get into a back-and-forth with Love, and another on Darryl Morsell, who got Love in a headlock and rolled him over on the floor.<\/p>\n
The Tar Heels, who hit 10 threes in the first half, finished with 13 from beyond the arc. Manek, who had a season-high 28 points, hit five threes on the day.<\/p>\n
Carolina also did some damage inside as the Heels finished with an 14-rebound edge on the boards. In the first half, when Carolina set the tone, the Tar Heels had a 32-16 rebounding edge, including 11 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second-chance points.<\/p>\n
Marquette found some offense in the second half but Carolina replied with some highlight reel dunks. R.J. Davis dished out a pair of assists early in the second half that brought the Carolina faithful to their feet. Davis finished with a season-high 13 assists. <\/p>\n
After a Leaky Black steal, Davis distributed the ball to a streaking Brady Manek for a dunk. Less than three minutes later, Davis lobbed a long pass to Armando Bacot for another dunk.<\/p>\n
The Tar Heels never abandoned the three however as Manek drained back-to-back ones to give Carolina its biggest lead to that point at 67-33. Carolina’s largest lead of the game came with nine minutes left when Leaky Black found Puff Johnson for a fastbreak layup and an 83-48 lead. <\/p>\n
While Manek led Carolina with 28 points and 11 rebounds, Love finished with a season-high 23, and Bacot tallied 17 points. Johnson also reached double figures with 11 points. <\/p>\n
Marquette, led by Olivier Prosper’s 16 points, ends the season 19-13. <\/p>\n
Carolina, now 25-9 overall, take on No. 1 regional seed Baylor on Saturday.<\/p>\n
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