North Carolina coach Roy Williams was ready with reminders Tuesday night about how well Joel Berry played last season down the stretch.

Berry appears to ready to show that he's even better now.

The junior guard scored 23 points and fifth-ranked North Carolina, which let its defense do much of the work in the early going, rolled past Long Beach State for a 93-67 victory at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.

"I'm just getting more shot opportunities," Berry said. "I'm just trying to shoot it and make it. I'm just taking open shots. I'm not trying to force anything."

Berry, who matched his season high that he posted in the opener, scored 14 of his points in the first half, when the Tar Heels shot 59.4 percent from the field. Berry was 5 of 6 in the opening half and 7 of 10 for the game.

Yet Williams said he was just as pleased with what Berry did defensively other than pick up two first-half fouls.

"He has been setting the tone to the defense," Williams said.

Forward Kennedy Meeks provided 15 points and swingman Justin Jackson had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Tar Heels (3-0). Freshman post player Tony Bradley notched his third game with double-figure points by scoring 10 off the bench.

Not all was smooth for the Tar Heels because Williams became so frustrated with 13:35 to play that he smashed a clipboard during a timeout.

"Today was my first experience going through that -- and wow," Bradley said of witnessing his coach's in-game anger.

Williams said a busy early stretch might account for inconsistency despite the Tar Heels notching three comfortable victories.

"It looked like a third game in five days a lot of times," Williams said.

Forward Gabe Levin scored 17 points for Long Beach State (1-2), which was coming off a lopsided loss two nights earlier at Wichita State. Reserve guard Jordan Griffin, a freshman, chipped in with 11 points.

North Carolina has eclipsed the 90-point mark in each game this season. The Tar Heels ended up shooting 53.3 percent.

The Tar Heels rang up leads of 23-6 and 32-11 on the way to a 50-27 halftime advantage.

Long Beach State didn't score in the game's first 7 1/2 minutes until Levin's put-back. The 49ers trailed 14-0 even though the Tar Heels had four consecutive empty possessions during one stretch.

"I'm disappointed that we didn't take advantage of the opportunity to come out here and play a little bit better early," Long Beach State coach Dan Monson said. "They took us out of the game in the first 10 minutes."

North Carolina was 4-for-10 on first-half free throws.

Long Beach State shot 25.8 percent from the field in the first half and committed nine turnovers. Adding to its problems, starting forward Mason Riggins picked up three fouls.

The 49ers used 12 players in the first half, with 11 of them launching at least one shot in a search for any offensive production.

"We were not very aggressive offensively," Monson said. "We let the shot clock get down and they took us out."

NOTES: North Carolina has won all four meetings with Long Beach State, with all the games within a seven-season span. ... Entering the game, the Tar Heels had scored 17 field goals in each of the four halves they played in their first two games, but then they had 19 in the first half and 13 in the second half Tuesday. ... North Carolina sophomore F Luke Maye was in a walking boot on his left foot and in street clothes after sustaining an injury two days earlier against Chattanooga. ... North Carolina, which has seven games in the first 13 days of the season, plays its next four games in Hawaii, beginning Friday night against Hawaii and then three games next week in the Maui Invitational. ... Long Beach State is two games into a stretch of nine consecutive games away from home. The next stop for the 49ers comes Thursday at Louisville.