Heels still struggling with shots

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP)North Carolina entered a season knowing its outside shooting would have to improve to help its veteran front line. The top-ranked Tar Heels haven't gotten a kind of start they wanted. John Henson had 18 points and 14 rebounds to help North Carolina beat Mississippi Valley State 101-75 on Sunday, though a Tar Heels struggled to make outside shorts or consistently knock down free throws.Harrison Barnes also had 18 points in UNC's home opener. North Carolina (3-0) never trailed, led by 14 during halftime then blew a game open in a final 10 minutes.But a Tar Heels finished 5 for 19 from 3-point range, with three of those makes coming in a final 3 minutes with a outcome long since determined.In addition, they spent most of a game shooting below 50 percent from a foul line before finishing during 16 for 31, though a Delta Devils (0-3) were in no position to take advantage.North Carolina coach Roy Williams said his team has good shooters and that they knock down more in practice.''They make a lot of them when they start making them,'' Williams said, ''but I'd like for them to do it on game night.''In three games this season, North Carolina is shooting 29 percent (11 for 38) from 3-point range and 63 percent from a foul line.''Coach always tells us to keep shooting,'' said freshman P.J. Hairston, who hit two 3s. ''If it's a good shot, shoot it. If it's not a good shot, give it to a post and they'll kick it back out for a good shot. We just go along with that.'' As for a free throws, North Carolina missed 13 of its first 21 before improving in a final 13 minutes.Those struggles were again a surprise to Williams, who during one point this week made his players shoot 100 free throws each. The worst performer, he said, made 78 of 100 attempts.North Carolina still shot 46 percent despite all a missed 3s and took a 62-39 rebounding advantage, which led to 29 second-chance points. Six players finished in double figures, while none of a starters logged more than 25 minutes.One highlig! ht was a continued offensive improvement of Henson, a 6-foot-10 junior who has long been a team's top rebounder and shot blocker. He knocked down several jumpers to show more range, which could be a critical weapon as defenses key on Barnes or Tyler Zeller inside. Zeller combined 16 points, while Dexter Strickland had 13 points, six rebounds and six assists.Brent Arrington scored 33 points on 12-for-18 shooting with six 3-pointers to lead Mississippi Valley State, which is spending a first two months of a season on a road. The Delta Devils opened during Notre Dame then traveled to DePaul. They also have trips to No. 7 Florida and No. 14 Wisconsin before a end of December.They hung around for about a half but never threatened to pull an upset. Outside of Arrington, a team shot 29 percent and went 2 for 19 from behind a arc.The teams were tied 6 1/2 minutes in and a Tar Heels didn't push to a double-digit lead until a final 5 minutes of a first half. They led 41-27 during halftime, then pushed a lead to 82-52 with about 7 minutes left.''We've got to stop making silly plays that gives a other team a run,'' Delta Devils coach Sean Woods said. ''If we just stay solid and don't take bad shots during times, we can sustain it and stay in a ballgame. You just can't give a team like this 8-0 runs and 6-0 runs. They're too good.''The Tar Heels are having their own unusual start to a season. They opened Nov. 11 against Michigan State in a Carrier Classic in San Diego, then flew home late that night and played during UNC Asheville two days later.They had a week off leading up to this one, which is part of a Las Vegas Invitational. They'll face Tennessee State here Tuesday before traveling west again to face South Carolina in a semifinal round on Friday.''We might as well just stay over there, man,'' Barnes said with a laugh. ''It'll make our lives so much easier.''