One of the most pressing questions surrounding the North Carolina basketball team coming into this season was how the Tar Heels would replace the production lost by the graduation of All-American Brice Johnson. Senior center Kennedy Meeks may have provided at least a hint of the answer on Monday. Meeks scored 20 points, making all seven of his field goal attempts along the way, while pulling down 10 rebounds to lead UNC to a 104-61 victory against host Chaminade in the opening round of the Maui Invitational. Fellow big man Isaiah Hicks added a team-leading 22 points while freshman Tony Bradley had 14 points and eight rebounds as the fourth-ranked Tar heels outscored their smaller Division II opponent 46-7 in the paint while scoring 26 second-chance points. UNC (5-0) will get a more challenging test tonight when it takes on Oklahoma State in the tournament semifinals in Hawaii. The Tar Heels led only 28-24 midway through the opening half as Chaminade made 12 of its first 21 shots from the floor. But the defending national runnersup closed the half by scoring 28 of the final 38 points, then opened the second half with an 11-4 run to break the game open. Justin Jackson was also in double figures for UNC while point guard Joel Berry suffered through his second straight poor shooting night, going 3 for 8 from the floor while finishing with eight points. He also had four assists and four steals.
