Nov 22, 2014 4 min read

North Carolina coach Roy Williams wanted to send a message to Kennedy Meeks after two early mistakes, so he sat his star power forward less than three minutes into Saturday’s game against Davidson.

His message was simple: “Play or sit.”

Meeks, who played his prep basketball at nearby West Charlotte High, decided to play – and enjoyed one heck of a homecoming.

The 6-foot-9, 270-pound Meeks overcame those two early defensive mistakes to score 19 points and 12 rebounds, leading No. 6 North Carolina to a 90-72 win over Davidson to remain unbeaten.

Justin Jackson had 18 points, Marcus Paige had 13 points and J.P. Tokoto added 10 points and seven rebounds as the Tar Heels (3-0) recorded their first road win of the season.

Meeks was 9 of 13 from the field as the taller and more athletic Tar Heels outshot the Wildcats 47 percent to 33 percent and outrebounded them 51-42.

“I thought I was going to have a bad day,” Meeks said of his slow start. “That is something that you have to go through, but I felt like I did pretty good after that.”

When asked how he felt Meeks responded, Williams said, “nine of 13 for 19 points and 12 rebounds – I thought he did all right. And he was more active defensively, there’s no question about that.”

Meeks, who said he shed 55 pounds this offseason and rebuilt his body, was active in transition with layups and also had a few nice up court passers leading to easy points off the break.

North Carolina held a double-digit lead for the entire second half, then began to pull away late.

Peyton Aldridge had six 3-pointers and finished with 25 points to lead Davidson (2-1). Tyler Kalinowski added 12 points for the Wildcats.

The game was played at Time Warner Cable Arena, home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets, who are owned by former Tar Heel standout Michael Jordan.

Davidson, which is making the transition from the Southern Conference to the Atlantic 10 this season, stayed close early on behind some solid outside shooting by Aldridge, who was 6 of 10 from 3-point range. But North Carolina began to build a comfortable double-digit lead late in the he first half with an 11-0 run.

North Carolina finally pulled away with about five minutes left, stretching its lead to 79-60 as Meeks and Jackson flexed their muscles inside. UNC outscored Davidson 44-22 in the paint.

: Providence stunned Florida State by jumping out to an 11-0 lead Saturday in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic and then strolled to an 80-54 victory over the Seminoles at Mohegan Sun Arena.

LaDontae Henton (24 points, 10 rebounds) Kris Dunn (15 points, nine assists) led Providence (4-0). Dunn was 7-for-15 from the field. Henton hit 9 of 16 shots.

The Friars, who opened up a 20-point lead in the first half, dominated on the way to a 34-19 lead at halftime. Florida State (1-2) never found a crack in Providence’s game and continued to fall further behind in the second half.

A powerful dunk by Henton gave the Friars a 46-29 lead and forced Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton to call timeout with 13:18 left. The rest of the game was close to a highlight reel for Providence, with Dunn dishing off to Henton and Jalen Lindsey (15 points, 5-for-6 on 3-pointers).

Dunn exited the game to a standing ovation from the Providence fans with 2:21 to play.

Aaron Thomas led Florida State with 16 points. Montay Brandon had 13 points for the Seminoles, who shot 39 percent from the field and 17 percent from 3-point range.

: Jordan Stevens scored 27 points, nailing 6 of 9 from beyond the arc, as Duquesne rolled over Abilene Christian 102-81 on Saturday.

Duquesne made 12 of 23 3-point attempts (52.2%). TySean Powell had 18 points, L.G. Gill added 13 and Eric James had 12 for the Dukes (2-0).

Abilene Christian (1-2) led 13-12 midway of the second half. The Dukes quickly took control to lead 46-38 at the half. The Wildcats had trimmed the lead to 54-48 with 14:58 remaining, but the Dukes went on a 27-12 run to pull ahead 81-60 with 7:42 left in the game.

: Joshua Smith scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Georgetown posted an 80-66 win over Robert Morris Saturday.

L.J. Peak and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 12 points apiece for the Hoyas (3-0), who have won 32 straight home games, with Smith-Rivera dishing off seven assists.

The Hoyas shot 49 percent, with Smith making 9 of 12 shots, and limited the Colonials (1-3) to 30.5 percent. Georgetown also out-rebounded Robert Morris 47-31.