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No. 11 North Carolina beats Western Carolina 104-61

Michigan v North Carolina

CHAPEL HILL, NC - NOVEMBER 29: Luke Maye #32 of the North Carolina Tar Heels yells to his teammates against the Michigan Wolverines during their game at Dean Smith Center on November 29, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Luke Maye had 12 points and 12 rebounds while No. 11 North Carolina hit a season-high 16 3-pointers to beat Western Carolina 104-61 on Wednesday night.

The Tar Heels (9-1) ran off 20 straight points during a 33-3 first-half run that put this one away early. UNC shot 57 percent and made 16 of 22 3-point attempts for the game, coming one shy of matching the program record for made 3s in a game.

Freshman Jalek Felton had a team-high 15 points for the Tar Heels, who finished with six players in double figures. North Carolina also took a 53-25 rebounding advantage against a team that entered the game ranked 311th nationally in rebound margin.

Deriece Parks scored 13 points for the Catamounts (3-7), who made two quick shots for a 5-0 lead. But they missed 16 of 17 shots and had an 8-minute scoring drought as the Tar Heels took over.

BIG PICTURE

Western Carolina: The Catamounts had already lost twice to power-conference opponents, falling by 28 points at both Clemson and Minnesota. This time, the Southern Conference program found itself trailing by 27 at halftime on the way to falling to 3-33 all-time against current Atlantic Coast Conference members.

UNC: North Carolina has had a packed-full schedule in recent weeks with seven games in 14 days, including its only loss to Michigan State in the PK80 Invitational in Portland, Oregon, on Nov. 26. At least now the Tar Heels will have some time to get in more practice, regroup and recharge a bit during an 11-day exam break.

UP NEXT

Western Carolina: The Catamounts host Southern Wesleyan on Friday.

UNC: The Tar Heels travel to No. 24 Tennessee on Dec. 17.