No. 1 North Carolina off to 4-0 start, beats James Madison
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — RJ Davis scored 21 points, Armando Bacot had 19 points and 23 rebounds and No. 1 North Carolina defeated James Madison 80-64 on Sunday to improve to 4-0.
Pete Nance added 11 points and Leaky Black had 12 rebounds as the Tar Heels concluded a four-game homestand.
Takal Molson scored 19 points in James Madison’s first game against a top-ranked team in nearly 32 years. Mezie Offurum had 12 points, Julien Wooden added 11 and Vado Morse finished with 10 for the Dukes (4-1).
North Carolina built a 21-point first-half lead to take control early before holding a 45-26 advantage at halftime.
The Dukes, who averaged 105.1 points in four romps, didn’t reach the 50-point mark until less than 7 1/2 minutes remained in the game.
North Carolina’s lead was cut to 49-40 shortly after the Dukes put together a 12-2 run to begin the second half.
NO. 16 VIRGINIA 70, NO. 19 ILLINOIS 61
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Reece Beekman and his Virginia Cavaliers capped an emotional week by going on a late 13-point run to defeat Illinois and win the Continental Tire Main Event.
The Cavaliers (4-0) trailed 58-56 with 3 1/2 minutes left when they broke away from Illinois (4-1).
Beekman scored 17 points and was the tournament MVP. Kihei Clark and Jayden Gardner each had 12 for Virginia.
Jayden Epps had 14 points and Coleman Hawkins 10 for the Illini.
The game was played exactly a week after Virginia football players Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry were fatally shot after a field trip to see a play in Washington. Former Virginia football player Christopher Darnell Jones Jr. faces three counts of second-degree murder and other charges.
Virginia players wore shirts to honor those killed and locked arms in tribute before the game.
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