CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Kenny Williams scored 18 points and defending national champion North Carolina took its time before opening up, beating Lipscomb 84-66 Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Theo Pinson had 15 points and flirted with a triple-double for the Tar Heels (26-10), the No. 2 seed in the West Region.

Playing for the first time in the NCAA tourney, the 15th-seeded Bisons (23-10) shot well at the start and held an early six-point edge. They led 33-31 with under four minutes left in the first half before North Carolina went on a 12-1 run to take control by the break.

UNC won its 12th NCAA game in 13 tries going back to the 2016 tournament that ended with a title-game loss to Villanova.

Williams had played only spot duty that season and missed last year's title run due to an injury. He made 6 of 8 shots Friday and 4 of 5 3s, helping the Tar Heels shoot 52 percent while making nine 3s.

Kenny Cooper scored 14 points for the Bisons, who made just 7 of 28 3-pointers.

BIG PICTURE

Lipscomb: The Bisons beat Florida Gulf Coast in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament. Coach Casey Alexander -- roaming the sideline as a head coach in the tournament for the first time -- said he wanted his players to savor the experience even as they faced a daunting challenge. Lipscomb missed its last nine 3s of the first half as UNC surged ahead.

UNC: The Tar Heels were taking their first step toward becoming only the third repeat champion since UCLA's record run of seven straight ended in 1973. It certainly helps that they had again earned themselves a friendly opening site; UNC improved to 34-1 in NCAA games played in its home state with the last loss coming in 1979.

UP NEXT

The Tar Heels moved to Sunday's second round against 7-seed Texas A&M, which beat 10-seed Providence earlier Friday.