FIU falls to N.C.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – Deon Thompson scored 20 points to help No. 6 North Carolina spoil Isiah Thomas’ college coaching debut and beat Florida International 88-72 Monday night in the 2K Sports Classic.
Ed Davis added 13 points for the defending national champion Tar Heels (1-0), who had little trouble with the undersized Golden Panthers. North Carolina shot 56 percent and led by double digits much of the way to kick off its centennial season against Thomas, the Hall of Fame player and former NBA coach who took over the long-struggling program in April.
His debut came on the same day his 86-year-old mother, Mary, had open-heart surgery in Chicago. He spent Sunday with her, then arrived in Chapel Hill early Monday for the Golden Panthers’ shootaround at the Smith Center. He said before the game that he expected to return to Chicago Tuesday.
Marvin Roberts had 18 points for the Golden Panthers (0-1), who shot 37 percent. North Carolina led 46-30 at halftime, then pushed the margin to 25 points in the first five minutes of the second half to eliminate any chance of a Hollywood-esque story line for Thomas.
Instead, the game offered a glimpse of what remains from the squad that rolled Michigan State in last season’s NCAA title game. While four starters are gone there’s still plenty of talent and, most notably, size on a squad that showed plenty of balance against the Golden Panthers.