ChapelL Hill, N.C. ? Just getting re-acclimated to the Eastern time zone was the biggest challenge for North Carolina.

It sure didn’t get one from Southern California.

Playing their fifth game in eight days, the 11th-ranked Tar Heels got 23 points from Jawad Williams and another 17 from Sean May to beat the Trojans 97-65 Sunday night.

Raymond Felton added 12 assists for North Carolina (4-1), which won the Maui Invitational in convincing fashion last week, outscoring its opponents by an average of 21 points. An all-night plane ride got the players back to campus late Friday, and they practiced almost immediately.

Another workout followed on Saturday, then the Tar Heels went to work on USC (1-1).

“It’s really tough, guys were really jet-lagged,” May said. “We had to do what we could do to get ourselves back on this time schedule. Then we did a pretty good job of playing with energy.”

The score was tied only at 2, and Jackie Manuel’s jumper gave North Carolina the lead for good. It reached double figures on a three-pointer by Rashad McCants about 61/2 minutes into the first half, and May’s free throw made it a 20-point margin with about 5 minutes left.

“I was worried about us being a little stagnant, a little too casual out there,” Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. “I feel very good about the win, I think we played exceptionally well.”

North Carolina had a 22-5 run to close the opening 20 minutes, and the Trojans never recovered. This wasn’t quite the homecoming coach Henry Bibby wanted — he grew up in tiny Franklinton, N.C., about 30 miles from Chapel Hill.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams, left, talks to freshman Marvin Williams. The Tar Heels defeated Southern California on Sunday at Chapel Hill, N.C.

Jeff McMillan scored 10 points for USC, which fell to 0-7 all-time against UNC.

“It just shows me how much work we need to do to get where we need to be,” Bibby said. “I thought the kids played hard out on the floor, but I don’t think we always played smart.”

Scoring never was a problem for the Tar Heels, who returned the ACC’s top scorer (McCants), top rebounder (May) and assist man (Felton) for Williams’ second season. This was their third straight game with at least 90 points.

A point of emphasis for Carolina has been sharing the ball, and if the first half was any indication, that problem is solved, too. Every player who played had at least one assist, led by Felton’s six, and 17 of the 22 baskets came on assists.

“When you see somebody passing the ball to a teammate, it makes you want to pass it,” Manuel said. “To me, when I pass the ball to somebody and he scores, that feels just as good as when I score.”