By AARON BEARD

AP Basketball Writer
CHAPEL HILL — Armando Bacot had all but one of his 28 points after halftime to help No. 1 North Carolina push past the College of Charleston 102-86 on Friday night.

The 6-foot-11 preseason Associated Press All-American got just one shot attempt in an opening half that set the tone for an offensively driven game with neither team able to string together defensive stops.

The Tar Heels (2-0) had to outscore the Cougars (1-1) after trailing at halftime — and needed to establish Bacot in the paint as a physical and rugged presence to get that going.

Bacot went 10 for 12 from the field after the break to go with six rebounds, while Caleb Love added 25 points. With Bacot rolling, the Tar Heels made 20 of 28 shots (71.4%) after halftime and finished the game shooting 60%.

Dalton Bolon scored 14 of his 16 points before halftime for the College of Charleston, which led by eight points in the first half and 50-43 at halftime. The Cougars shot nearly 53% in the first 20 minutes and hovered well beyond 50% for the game until fading in the final minutes as the Tar Heels finally asserted control.

BIG PICTURE

Charleston: The Cougars are in their second year led by Pat Kelsey and picked to finish fourth in the Colonial Athletic Association race. They scored 85 points with nine 3-pointers in their opener to beat Chattanooga and showed plenty of offensive punch again with the ability to beat the Tar Heels off the dribble, including having their guards muscle UNC’s backcourt of Love and RJ Davis in the paint. Ultimately, though, they lost their 12th straight game against ranked opponents.

UNC: The Tar Heels labored through their opener against UNC Wilmington with a performance that Bacot called “rusty” and coach Hubert Davis hoped was just “first-game anxiousness and nervousness.” This one looked better from an offensive standpoint, though the defensive troubles stood out. The Tar Heels didn’t go ahead for good in this one until midway through the second half.

UP NEXT

College of Charleston: The Cougars host Richmond on Monday night.

UNC: The Tar Heels host Gardner-Webb on Tuesday night.

Filipowski leads No. 7 Duke’s 84-38 rout of SC Upstate

By BOB SUTTON

Associated Press

DURHAM — Freshman Kyle Filipowski had 15 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double in as many games, and No. 7 Duke blew out South Carolina Upstate 84-38 on Friday night.

Mark Mitchell’s 13 points and Jacob Grandison’s 12 points also gave the Blue Devils a lift, while Ryan Young contributed 11 points and Jeremy Roach scored 10. Mitchell is a freshman, while Grandison and Young are graduate transfers.

Duke center Dereck Lively II, the highest-rated recruit nationally in the freshman class, made his collegiate debut by coming off the bench. He had been out since a calf injury sustained in a preseason practice. He flushed dunks for his only two baskets, providing the tying and go-ahead points after Duke’s ragged opening stretch.

Justin Bailey scored 13 points for SC Upstate (1-1).

Six different players made at least one 3-pointer for the Blue Devils, who held a 52-27 rebounding edge.

SC Upstate, which led 7-0, managed only five points across a 10-minute span as it fell into a 25-12 hole.

Despite needing almost four minutes before scoring, Duke led 43-18 at halftime. The Blue Devils closed the first half on a 15-2 run.

BIG PICTURE

SC Upstate: The Spartans had their best stretch in the opening two minutes and couldn’t maintain that. Still, it’s bound to be a valuable experience for SC Upstate, which has three more games against Power Five teams before Christmas. The goal will be making considerable strides to improve on last season’s 15-17 record.

Duke: Now it’s time to settle in after hoopla involving Jon Scheyer’s first game as coach earlier in the week. It was important to get Lively, the Atlantic Coast Conference Preseason Rookie of the Year, in action before next week’s showdown with national champion Kansas. That enabled the Blue Devils to work on more personnel combinations in game situations. Aside from allowing a couple of open perimeter shots in the second half, the defense was solid and the Blue Devils prospered from size advantages in the post.

UP NEXT

SC Upstate: At Clemson on Tuesday night.

Duke: Faces No. 5 Kansas in Indianapolis on Tuesday night.

 

Williamson, Appleby lead Wake Forest over Georgia
WINSTON-SALEM (AP) — Daivien Williamson had 24 points, Tyree Appleby scored 22 and Wake Forest turned back Georgia 81-71 on Friday night.

Williamson sank 7 of 13 shots with three 3-pointers for Wake Forest (2-0). Appleby added six rebounds and six assists. Davion Bradford buried all five of his shots and scored 11.

Williamson had 15 points in the first half to help the Demon Deacons take a commanding 41-22 lead at the break.

Mardrez McBride scored all 13 of his points in the second half and Georgia used a three-point play by Justin Hill and a 3-pointer by Terry Roberts to pull within 73-65 with 1:21 left to play. Two free throws by Appleby ended the Bulldogs’ 18-7 run and wrapped up the win for Wake Forest.

Roberts added 13 points and five assists for Georgia (1-1). Kario Oquendo had 12 points and KyeRon Lindsay scored 10 before fouling out.

The Demon Deacons shot just under 51% from the floor and made 9 of 26 from 3-point range. The Bulldogs shot 41.9% overall and hit 8 of 27 from distance.

Georgia is led by first-year coach Mike White, who joined the Bulldogs after seven seasons as coach of the Florida Gators. Appleby played for White in his last two seasons at Florida.
The Bulldogs are 4-3 all-time versus Wake Forest.

 

Miami pulls away in second half to beat UNC Greensboro 79-65

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) — Jordan Miller scored 19 points and Miami pulled away in the second half to be UNC Greensboro 79-65 on Friday night.

Miller sank 8 of 12 shots from the floor for Miami (2-0), including 3 of 6 from 3-point range. He added seven rebounds.

Keondre Kennedy had nine points and Bas Leyte scored eight to guide UNC Greensboro (1-1) to a 34-33 lead at halftime. Miller had 12 points to keep Miami close.

Nijel Pack and Wooga Poplar hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open the second half and the Hurricanes never trailed again.

Isaiah Wong hit three 3-pointers and scored 15 for Miami. Pack had 14 points and four assists. They combined for 21 points in the second half. Norchard Omier finished with 11 rebounds and four assists, scoring six.

Mikeal Brown-Jones topped the Spartans with 13 points. Kennedy and Leyte both scored 12. Kennedy had seven of the team’s 27 rebounds. Dante Treacy scored 11.

The Hurricanes shot 53% overall and sank 13 of 27 from 3-point range. The Spartans shot 41% from the floor and made 8 of 24 from distance.

Miami shot just four free throws in the game and made them all. UNC Greensboro sank 9 of 13 foul shots.

White, Kelly, lead UNC Wilmington past DII Allen

WILMINGTON — Trazarien White scored 17 points and Amari Kelly 14 on 7-for-7 shooting and UNC Wilmington beat Division II-member Allen 104-55 on Friday night in their home opener.

The Seahawks (1-1) had 14 players score and finished the night shooting 43 for 72 (59.7%). UNC Wilmington built a 22-4 lead six minutes in and never trailed.

Darius Williams scored 19 points and Peyton Weathersby 13 for Allen. Allen is playing in its first full season at the Division II level.

___

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25