Three takeaways from UNC basketball’s win over Campbell; RJ Davis hits scoring milestone

In the first meeting between the two schools, North Carolina defeated Campbell, 97-81, at the Dean Smith Center on Sunday night.

In the Tar Heels’ last tune-up before their ACC slate, North Carolina (8-5, 1-0 ACC) extended its win streak to two with a dominant showing over the Camels (5-8). Ian Jackson, who replaced Seth Trimble (upper-body injury) in the starting lineup, led UNC with a season-high 26 points — building on his 24-point performance against UCLA.

After a trio of triples from senior guard RJ Davis, and one for first-time starter Jackson, Elliot Cadeau’s layup stretched UNC’s lead out to double digits for the first time in the half. Then Campbell sophomore forward Colby Duggan hit back-to-back 3-pointers over junior big man Ven-Allen Lubin to cut it to four. The Camels later cut their deficit to four with eight minutes remaining in the first half, and then to five with three.

North Carolina responded after a rough shooting spurt with a jumper from Drake Powell, two trips to the free throw line from Cade Tyson and Jackson and a layup by Jalen Washington.

After building an 11-point lead at halftime, UNC came out in typical fashion to start the second half — hot.

The Tar Heels began to focus more on playing inside-out — feeding the ball to their posts instead of jacking up shots from deep.

“I want to live in the paint and I want to live at the free throw line,” coach Hubert Davis said. “They can recite that because I say that to them every day. So in the first half, we only went to the free throw line eight times but we had 17 threes taken and were 4-for-17 as a team. I love threes, but we have the ability to put max pressure on the rim. And I thought in the second half we did a better job of that.”

North Carolina shot 62.5% from the field and 54.5% from distance (doubling its success rate from distance in the first half) and cruised to a 25-point lead with 10 minutes to play. By the time two minutes remained, the sparse winter break crowd of Tar Heels began to chant — ”We want biscuits!” — as UNC neared the 100-point mark.

While the Tar Heels failed to break the triple-digit threshold, their performance against Campbell should reinstall some confidence in fans ahead of the New Year.

UNC returns to conference play in 2025 with road games at Louisville (Jan. 1) and Notre Dame (Jan. 4).

Here are three takeaways from the Tar Heels’ win:

RJ Davis makes history

Davis became the first Tar Heel in program history to break the 300 mark for career 3-pointers — passing assistant coach Marcus Paige to become the all-time leading 3-point shooter in UNC history.

He did so on his first two attempts from downtown and was soon greeted by a standing ovation.

His teammates enjoyed the moment from the bench, with James Brown pretending to rain money from the bench. Davis, meanwhile, remained a stoic glance — pointing up to the sky briefly as his only act of celebration.

Soon after his moment of recognition, with 14 minutes left in the first half, Davis rose up for his third 3-point attempt. He knocked it down and earned a foul. He fell back, skid across the court and threw his arms up.

It’s already been a record-breaking season for Davis, whose 29-point outing against Florida on Dec. 17 in Charlotte moved him up to third place in UNC career scoring and first all-time among guards.

His 23-point performance on Sunday helped him pass Virginia’s Jeff Lamp (2,317) and Duke’s Mike Gminski (2,323) to move to 10th all-time in ACC scoring.

“I’m just grateful for everything that’s been coming my way,” he said, “and I just really want to finish this season out strong.”

Next up on the list of records to break? Passing his old buddy Armando Bacot. Davis needs 15 points to pass Bacot for second in UNC career scoring.

Good nights for Cadeau, Jackson

Cadeau led the game with a career-high 12 assists. He also added 12 points on 6-of-11 shooting — the most points he’s scored since he dropped 17 in a 94-91 loss to Michigan State on Nov. 27.

The sophomore point guard has struggled in recent outings. He dished out a combined 12 assists against Florida and UCLA, but also turned the ball over nine times in that stretch.

But Sunday, Cadeau broke his career-high in dimes (his previous best was 10 assists against Tennessee last season). While he still struggles with turnovers — he recorded three against Campbell — he was below his season average of 3.3.

Jackson, meanwhile, built off a recent streak of impressive performances with 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting — including three triples — and five rebounds.

RJ Davis said Jackson brings a spark to the team with his ability to heat up quickly — helping open up him and other guards.

“They have to guard him as well,” RJ Davis said. “He’s been doing a great job playing stretches of games where he’s scoring at a high level. I’m super proud of him. That’s my New York little brother.”

The freshman said he has always felt confident. Instead, he credits his success as of late to more time spent on the floor — comfort, not credence.

“Understanding how to get to those spots quick… understanding where my teammates will find me at, where I can get my shot at, when I should cut, when I shouldn’t,” Jackson said. “Just understanding my spots and my spacing.”

North Carolina’s frontcourt steps up

Washington, despite struggling most of the season, finished Sunday with 10 points — just his second double-digit performance this year after an 18-point outing against American.

That’s just the 11th double-digit performance any forward has had this season, across Tyson (2), Powell (1), Lubin (3), Claude (0) and Withers (3).

Washington also added five rebounds, while Withers led the team with seven — the most he’s nabbed since seven in an 85-72 loss to Auburn on Nov. 11. UNC outrebounded Campbell 37-25 on Sunday — even without the help of Trimble, who is tied with Washington as the team’s leading rebounder.

North Carolina’s presence on the boards will be increasingly important as it enters ACC play against tougher competition. The Tar Heels entered Sunday ranked 200th in the nation in rebounding margin.

“We all know that we haven’t been playing up to par — as we can and as we should to help this team get as many wins as possible,” Washington said of UNC’s forwards. “So that’s an emphasis every day.”