Chapel Hill, NC (Sports Network) - Leslie McDonald had 14 points and six rebounds in No. 20 North Carolina's 78-55 thrashing of East Tennessee State.

Brice Johnson tallied 12 points and nine rebounds, while Reggie Bullock added 10 points for the Tar Heels (7-2), who have won 78 straight home games against unranked non-conference foes.

The Tar Heels improved to 7-0 all-time against the Buccaneers.

Rashawn Rembert led ETSU (2-5) with 18 points.

The Tar Heels stormed out of the gate and jumped out to a 34-4 lead a little over 15 minutes in. McDonald netted eight points and Bullock added seven points during the vigorous start.

East Tennessee State didn't tally a point from the 12:27-4:20 mark of the opening half and didn't reach the double-figure mark until Lester Wilson's 3- pointer cut the deficit to 41-12 with 1:44 remaining in the stanza.

North Carolina took a 42-12 edge into the break and led by as many as 36 over the final 20 minutes.

Game Notes

North Carolina shot 42.5 percent (31-of-73) from the floor, while East Tennessee State finished 33.3 percent (21-of-63) from the field ... The teams hadn't played since 1987 when UNC prevailed, 118-65 ... UNC recorded 16 assists on its 17 made field goals in the first half.

The Sports Network