North Carolina’s final tune-up before the regular season turned into a grind, but the Tar Heels found enough answers late to pull out an 89-82 overtime win over Charlotte on Tuesday night at the Smith Center.
UNC spent much of the evening playing from behind, including a first-half hole that grew to 15 points. But when the game tightened, the Tar Heel defense finally took over, and Charlotte never scored again after the 3:41 mark of the extra period. The 49ers missed their last seven shots as Carolina closed on an 11-4 overtime run.
Terrence Brown carried the offensive load for UNC, turning in his best preseason performance with 27 points on 9-for-18 shooting. He also delivered the game’s biggest late answer, hitting a three-pointer with 40 seconds left in overtime to push the lead to 89-82.
Jaydon Young gave the Tar Heels a huge lift in the second half. All 11 of his points came after halftime, and he made 3 of 4 shots from beyond the arc. Neo Avdalas added a steady all-around line with 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Sayon Keita and Jarin Stevenson each finished with 12 points.
Charlotte came out firing and looked much sharper early. The 49ers knocked down 10 of their first 18 shots, hit six threes in the opening half and controlled the game for 18:17 of the first 20 minutes.
Keyshaun Tillery was the big early problem for Carolina, scoring 16 points in just 16 first-half minutes and finishing with 24 after making five three-pointers. Chaze Harris was efficient too, going 6 for 7 from the floor and scoring 14.
The Tar Heels were sluggish out of the gate, missing 8 of their first 10 shots as Charlotte built a 10-5 lead and then stretched it to 18-8 at the second timeout. The 49ers later ripped off a 7-0 run to go up 25-10, and they held Carolina without a field goal for more than five minutes until Jarin Stevenson ended the drought with a corner three.
UNC finally started to chip away before the break. Maximo Adams buried a three to cut the deficit to 36-33, finishing a 19-7 Tar Heel run to end the half. By halftime, Carolina had shot 39.3 percent and Brown already had 12 points, while Tillery had matched him with a game-high 16 for Charlotte.
The comeback kept building after halftime. Young’s three-pointer with 13:39 left tied the game at 45, marking the first time Charlotte had not led since early in the opening stretch. A little more than a minute and a half later, Young struck again from deep to give UNC its first lead since the 17:08 mark of the first half.
From there, the game stayed tight. Charlotte later surged back in front, including a 6-0 burst that put the 49ers up 74-69 inside the final four minutes.
But Carolina answered after a strange ending to regulation. With Charlotte leading 78-77 and 16.9 seconds remaining, Frank Oguche called timeout when the 49ers had none left, drawing a technical foul.
Brown made 1 of 2 free throws to tie it and force overtime.
UNC took control in the extra session. Stevenson hit a three from right in front of the Tar Heel bench with 2:12 left to make it 85-82, then Avdalas hit 1 of 2 free throws after another stop. Brown then sealed it with his deep shot in the final minute.
The game was the first in the Smith Center for head coach Michael Malone.
Matt Able did not play for Carolina, and graduate transfer center Cameron Fens also remained out while he waits for a ruling on his potential fifth-year eligibility.
Charlotte was led by head coach and former Tar Heel guard Wes Miller, with former UNC guard Marcus Paige on his staff. The 49ers now head into the regular season after leaving Chapel Hill with a near miss. Carolina opens its regular season Monday night at 7 p.m. against Western Carolina on ACC Network.
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