NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — Harrison Ingram scored 16 points, Cormac Ryan added 15 points and No. 14 North Carolina used a big second-half run to beat Northern Iowa 91-69 on Wednesday in the opening game of the Battle 4 Atlantis.
North Carolina (4-0) will play on Thursday against the winner of the Villanova-Texas Tech game. Northern Iowa (1-3) moves into the consolation bracket.
North Carolina trailed 41-35 at halftime after making just 9 of 27 shots, including 3 of 13 from 3-point range. But the Tar Heels made eight of their first nine 3-pointers in the second half and scored 34 of the opening 40 points for a 69-47 lead.
UNC started the second half on a 19-2 run for a 54-42 lead. Ryan and Ingram each made a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions during an 8-0 run, and Ryan added two straight 3-pointers to end the second 8-0 run.
The Panthers, who shot 60% in the first half, didn’t make a shot from the field in the second half until the 13:52 mark and their second field goal was with 8:44 remaining.
Freshman Elliot Cadeau scored 11 of his 15 points in the final 11 minutes for North Carolina. RJ Davis added 13 points, Jae’Lyn Withers scored 11 and Armando Bacot had 10 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.
Nate Heise scored 14 points and Jacob Hutson had 10 for Northern Iowa. Tytan Anderson had seven points and 10 rebounds.
Northern Iowa was seeking its first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent since defeating North Carolina State in the 2017 Battle 4 Atlantis.
SERIES HISTORY
UNI's lone win in the series came on Nov. 21, 2015, when the Panthers knocked off the No. 1-ranked Tar Heels 71-67 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The game was scheduled to give Marcus Paige an opportunity to play in his home state, but the Marion, Iowa, native was unable to play due to an injury.
AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
