No. 18 North Carolina 93, East Carolina 87: James Michael McAdoo recorded 19 points and seven rebounds to lead the way as the Tar Heels held off a second-half rally by the visiting Pirates.

P.J. Hairston chipped in with 18 points and Reggie Bullock added 14 for the Tar Heels (8-2), who saw their 16-point halftime lead trimmed to four in the final minute. Dexter Strickland added 12 points and seven assists for North Carolina, which improved to 5-0 at home.

Maurice Kemp had 15 points and 14 rebounds to lead East Carolina (6-2). Akeem Richmond had 17 points, including a 3-pointer to bring the Pirates within 89-85 with 29 seconds left, and Miguel Paul added 15 points.

East Carolina was down 12-10 before the Tar Heels ran off 12 straight points – five by Strickland -- to take control in the first half. North Carolina shot 55.2 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes and settled for a 42-26 halftime lead.

The Pirates started the second half fast, scoring 14 of the first 19 points to pull within 47-40. Hairston responded with a 3-pointer and the Tar Heels pushed their lead back to 18 before East Carolina’s late push.

GAME NOTEBOOK: East Carolina coach Jeff Lebo scored 1,567 points for North Carolina from 1986-89 – three of those years when current Tar Heels coach Roy Williams was an assistant for Dean Smith in Chapel Hill. … The Pirates, who made a school-record 18 from 3-point range in their last game, were 10-of-27 from beyond the arc against the Tar Heels. … North Carolina was 19-of-24 from the free-throw line after coming in shooting just 61.7 percent.