CHAPEL HILL — Day’Ron Sharpe had 21 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks to lead five North Carolina players scoring in double figures and the Tar Heels trailed for just 29 seconds in their 99-54 win over Louisville on Saturday night.
Kerwin Walton had a career-high 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, Armando Bacot scored 14, Garrison Brooks 12 and Walker Kessler added 10 for UNC (14-7, 8-5 ACC).
Louisville (11-5, 6-4) played for the first time in 19 days due to issues related to the coronavirus pandemic.
And it looked like it.
Carlik Jones hit a jumper to give the Cardinals a 2-0 lead but Walton answered with a 3-pointer 59 seconds into the game and UNC never again trailed.
Louisville shot just 33% from the field and made just 1 of 16 from 3-point range.
North Carolina outrebounded the Cardinals 45-34, blocked eight shots and outscored Louisville 58-32 in the paint.
Sharpe stole a pass from Charles Mineland, passed to RJ Davis and filled the right side of the lane for an alley-oop layup to make it 91-50 with 3:31 to play. Creighton Lebo’s layup two minutes later capped a 22-0 run and gave UNC a 49-point lead.
Jones, the lone Louisville player to score in double figures, finished with 13 points.
The Tar Heels set season highs for points and field-goal percentage (60.9).
