CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- It didn't take long for Marcus Paige to show he is back in a groove, and his impact for North Carolina could be bigger than ever this season.
The senior guard scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half in his first game of the season as No. 9 North Carolina defeated No. 2 Maryland 89-81 in a high-intensity contest in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night at the Smith Center
"The first shot went down," Paige said. "That did a lot for me mentally. I kind of relaxed. I'm sure it was a relief for the whole team."
Paige, who had been sidelined due to a fractured right hand, shot 7-for-12 from the field. The left-hander played with light padding on the back of his right hand.
"It was fun having No. 5 back out there," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. "I think (the team) did get energy from Marcus and from our crowd."
Paige was described as North Carolina's best player the past two seasons, and Williams said that is still the case. The coach wasn't overly concerned about how the guard would respond despite missing substantial court time over the past month.
"You don't ever know, sometimes they put too much pressure on themselves," Williams said of a player coming off a layoff. "But I had a feeling the little rascal would be pretty good."
Forward Brice Johnson's 16 points and forward Kennedy Meeks' 12 points gave the Tar Heels (6-1) an inside presence.
Guard Melo Trimble scored 23 points and guard Rasheed Sulaimon, who was the villain and was booed throughout the game because he is an ex-Duke player, poured in 18 points for Maryland. Forward Robert Carter added 11 points for the Terrapins (6-1).
"I learned a lot about my team," Maryland coach Mark Turgeon said. "In the first half, I was frustrated because I was over there and couldn't help them. ... We've just got to get better defensively."
North Carolina shot 53.2 percent from the field.
Maryland offset some of that with Trimble and Sulaimon combining to shoot 9-for-14 on 3-pointers. Sulaimon said he didn't want to allow the hostility directed at him to distract from his focus.
"He probably thrived on it," Turgeon said. "I thought he was terrific. I'm glad we've got him."
North Carolina broke away from a 67-67 tie, hitting a peak when guard Joel Berry sank a 3-pointer for a 83-74 lead, forcing a Maryland timeout with 4:53 left. Berry ended up with 14 points.
The Tar Heels were good on only two of nine free throws during a span down the stretch, but Maryland had five consecutive scoreless possessions in the last 80 seconds.
The Terrapins pulled even on Sulaimon's second 3-pointer of the second half. Moments later, Maryland took its first lead at 59-58 on Trimble's four-point play with 13:40 remaining, but Paige immediately answered with a 3-pointer.
North Carolina, beginning a stretch of seven home games in a nine-game stretch, held a 41-35 halftime edge, buoyed by 54.8 shooting from the field.
Maryland shot better, hitting at a 56 percent clip before the break. Thirteen first-half turnovers were harmful for the Terrapins, who didn't commit that many in three entire games last month.
North Carolina led 33-20 with just less than eight minutes to play in the half.
Paige began with an assist on the game's first possession and then knocked down a 3-point shot on the next trip on offense.
Sulaimon hit a pair of 3-point baskets in the first half to keep the Terrapins within range.
NOTES: This is Maryland's second season in the Big Ten after leaving the Atlantic Coast Conference. Among 180 meetings between Maryland and North Carolina, it is rare that the teams met as nonconference foes. ... G Rasheed Sulaimon, who was dismissed from the Duke team last January and arrived at Maryland in the summer as a graduate transfer, and F Robert Carter, who transferred from Georgia Tech, appeared previously at the Smith Center in ACC games. ... With Paige in the lineup, G Theo Pinson came off the North Carolina bench for the first time this season. ... This is the 30th anniversary season of Len Bias' 35-point performance for Maryland in an overtime victory against the then-No. 1 Tar Heels that marked North Carolina's first loss in the Smith Center. ... Maryland plays at home Friday against Saint Francis (Pa.). ... North Carolina is back in action Sunday night against visiting Davidson.
