University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
5-6
North Carolina
11-2
Meeks Leads No. 8 UNC Past UNI, 85-42
12/21/2016 9:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
AP Sports Writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) Kennedy Meeks scored 10 of his 18 points during No. 8 North Carolina's dominant second half, leading the Tar Heels past Northern Iowa 85-42 on Wednesday night.
Justin Jackson added 12 points while Joel Berry II and Isaiah Hicks finished with 11 apiece for the Tar Heels (11-2).
They shot 52 percent - hit 62 percent of their shots in the second half while outscoring Northern Iowa 52-16 - and established a 42-24 rebounding advantage to bounce back from a 103-100 loss to No. 6 Kentucky last weekend.
Bennett Koch scored 10 points before fouling out with 7:19 left for the Panthers (5-6), who have lost two straight and six of eight.
Hitting the offensive glass simply isn't in Northern Iowa's makeup - the Panthers rank 337th in Division I with just 7.3 offensive rebounds per game. The Tar Heels - who rank ninth nationally in that stat - took full advantage, turning 11 offensive boards into 13 second-chance points. North Carolina scored 20 points off Northern Iowa's 17 turnovers while giving it away only five times.
BIG PICTURE
Northern Iowa: The Panthers returned only one starter from the team that knocked off the then-top-ranked Tar Heels 13 months ago, but they kept the script the same - relying on 3-point shooting, and all but ignoring the offensive glass. Northern Iowa made 11 3s and grabbed only four offensive rebounds last year, but this time the Panthers were just 1 of 15 from 3-point range in the second half and didn't grab their first offensive board until about 12 1/2 minutes remained.
North Carolina: Meeks controlled the paint all night long for the Tar Heels, and wound up with his highest-scoring game against a Division I opponent this season. His season high of 20 points came against Division II Chaminade last month in the Maui Invitational.
UP NEXT
Northern Iowa: Returns home to face Missouri State on Dec. 28 in its Missouri Valley Conference opener.
North Carolina: Plays host to Monmouth on Dec. 28 in its final nonconference game.
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