CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - For 15 minutes of Sunday's game against sixth-ranked North Carolina, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team showed it belonged on the big stage.
Then fouls began to mount for the Mocs. The Tar Heels got comfortable. And things got out of hand really quickly.
North Carolina went on a 16-3 run late in the first half and held an 11-point lead at halftime. That lead ballooned to more than 20 points within the first five minutes of the second half, and the Tar Heels cruised to a 97-57 win in front of 13,402 at the Dean Smith Center.
The Mocs (1-1) play their home opener against National Christian College Athletic Association member Hiwassee College at 7 p.m. Wednesday at McKenzie Arena.
Greg Pryor had 15 of his 17 points in the first half to lead the Mocs while adding three assists and three steals. Casey Jones had 10 points, while Justin Tuoyo had eight points, nine rebounds and three blocks and Peyton Woods made two 3-pointers and finished with seven points.
UTC senior forward Tre' McLean, harassed most of the night by 6-foot-8 junior Justin Jackson, was held scoreless, missing all five of his shots. McLean had 21 points in Friday night's season-opening win at Tennessee.
The Mocs shot 35 percent from the floor and committed 26 turnovers against the Tar Heels (2-0), who shot 49 percent.
Pryor had 13 of the team's first 21 points as the Mocs stayed close early. They even led 26-23 after a three-point play by Casey Jones with 7:49 to play in the first half, but by then UTC's Nat Dixon had three fouls, Makinde London had two and Jones picked up his second a couple of minutes later.
That forced Mocs coach Matt McCall to do some serious mixing and matching with the lineup.
"I think Makinde being in foul trouble really hurt us in the first half," he said. "Isaiah Hicks and Kennedy Meeks don't miss jump hooks, and it's hard to double when they have shooters on the perimeter. I thought we could play Makinde and Tuoyo together in the first half, but Makinde gets two and Casey gets two, which puts two of our best frontcourt players in foul trouble.
"We competed, especially in the first half. I thought we got off to a great start, but they settled in and really started to turn up the heat and made it difficult to even get in an offense."
The Tar Heels, who returned three starters from their national runners-up lineup and a number of players with experience, led 44-33 at halftime and went on a 22-7 spurt to start the second half.
Joel Berry II led six North Carolina players who scored in double figures, finishing with 18 points and five assists. Meeks had 14 points and 12 rebounds, while Isaiah Hicks (13 points), Tony Bradley (12 points, eight rebounds), Kenny Williams (11 points, five assists) and Jackson (10 points, five assists) also scored in double digits.
The Tar Heels pounded the Mocs mercilessly in the paint, shooting 26-for-44 (59 percent) inside. They had 33 points off UTC turnovers, 21 points off 22 offensive rebounds and 19 fast-break points.
"I think the biggest thing, when they beat Tennessee at Tennessee Friday, I think that made our guys know how good they can be," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "And then they believed what we said about 29 wins last year and most of those guys back.
"I think they're a real good basketball team. I think our guys were much more ready to play because they believed what we were saying."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.