University of North Carolina Athletics
Head coach Michael Malone
Photo by: DALTON WAINSCOTT
October 27, 2026 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Quick takeaways from the exhibition finale.
By Adam Lucas
1. That one probably isn't going in the history books, but Carolina outlasted Charlotte in overtime, 89-82, in the exhibition finale. The visitors missed their final seven shots while the Heels went 4-4 from the field in the extra period to close the game on a 9-0 run.
2. Well, you probably weren't expecting to get a glimpse of how Carolina might handle some end of game situations in an exhibition against Charlotte, but that's what happened on Tuesday. The Heels were also the beneficiary of the 49ers calling a timeout they didn't have, which led to Terrence Brown's game-tying free throw that sent the game into overtime and opened the door for the win.
3. Michael Malone isn't going to be pleased with the defensive performance in this game. Charlotte hit 44.6 percent from the field and hit 54.5 percent from the field in the second half. Those numbers simply can't happen. And when they weren't allowing the 49ers to score, Carolina was fouling them--Charlotte hit 14 of 17 free throws in the second half while Carolina was attempting just 13. That isn't a knock on the officiating. It's an area where the Heels need to be better. In overtime, they were better, as Charlotte went to the line just once.
3. Carolina also can't be outrebounded 36-30 by Charlotte. Ten of those boards were offensive for the 49ers, and they were extremely efficient in turning them into 18 points. One of the key sequences of the game came with 5:15 left, when Keyshaun Tillery missed a free throw, but the visitors got a pair of offensive rebounds and eventually turned it into two points to take a two-point lead with under five minutes to go. Tillery had a very good night and finished with 24 points.
4. Carolina played without Matt Able, who was not in uniform. The Tar Heels remain without Cameron Fens, who is awaiting eligibility clearance.
5. As you would expect, Charlotte head coach Wes Miller and 49ers assistant Marcus Paige got a big ovation when they were introduced before starting lineups. Their team plays hard and is going to be fun to watch this year.
6. The first half, in which Carolina led for just 25 seconds, was not a work of art. At the 10:30 mark, Charlotte held a 25-10 lead and was five of nine from three and 10-18 from the field. The Heels turned the ball over on the very first possession of the game and didn't warm up offensively until Neo Avdalas hit Jarin Stevenson with a lob for a dunk at the 4:08 mark to cut the deficit to 10.
7. After that play, the rest of the half was more palatable. That included the 49ers failing to execute when they could have had the last shot of the half and instead rushed a three. They missed it, which gave Maximo Adams the opportunity to drain a three-pointer before the halftime buzzer. That shot cut the deficit to a deceptive three points. The Tar Heels really didn't play well enough in the first half to be that close. Nine of those 33 points came in the final 90 seconds of the half.
8. Numbers Malone almost certainly talked about at the break: Charlotte's 20-17 rebounding edge, its 8-1 second-chance point edge, Tillery's 16 points in 16 minutes and UNC's 11-28 field goal shooting.
9. Carolina's leading scorer was Brown, who scored 27 points but needed 18 shots to do it. He was joined in double figures by Jaydon Young, who hit three big three-pointers and scored 11, Neo Avdalas (16 points, team-high nine rebounds, team-high five assists), Sayon Keita (12 points) and Jarin Stevenson (12 points).
9. Alex Samodurov had some of the best minutes of his young career in the second half. The big man had an offensive rebound and basket, then a steal and a hit-ahead to Jaydon Young for a layup. He followed that up a minute later by grabbing a steal, pushing the ball up the court and delivering a ball fake and layup for a five-point UNC lead. Samodurov finished with just six points and one rebound, but that was an encouraging stretch. He finished +2.
10. The Tar Heels open the regular season against Western Carolina on Monday at 7 p.m. That's the first of six straight games at the Smith Center, which means it's a good time to remind everyone that the ticket office has new flex passes on sale this year that enable fans to get good single game ticket prices while retaining flexibility about which games they attend. And in an answer to a frequently asked question, they can be exchanged for any ticket that is available at the time of exchange--not just a specific subset of upper level seats.
1. That one probably isn't going in the history books, but Carolina outlasted Charlotte in overtime, 89-82, in the exhibition finale. The visitors missed their final seven shots while the Heels went 4-4 from the field in the extra period to close the game on a 9-0 run.
2. Well, you probably weren't expecting to get a glimpse of how Carolina might handle some end of game situations in an exhibition against Charlotte, but that's what happened on Tuesday. The Heels were also the beneficiary of the 49ers calling a timeout they didn't have, which led to Terrence Brown's game-tying free throw that sent the game into overtime and opened the door for the win.
3. Michael Malone isn't going to be pleased with the defensive performance in this game. Charlotte hit 44.6 percent from the field and hit 54.5 percent from the field in the second half. Those numbers simply can't happen. And when they weren't allowing the 49ers to score, Carolina was fouling them--Charlotte hit 14 of 17 free throws in the second half while Carolina was attempting just 13. That isn't a knock on the officiating. It's an area where the Heels need to be better. In overtime, they were better, as Charlotte went to the line just once.
3. Carolina also can't be outrebounded 36-30 by Charlotte. Ten of those boards were offensive for the 49ers, and they were extremely efficient in turning them into 18 points. One of the key sequences of the game came with 5:15 left, when Keyshaun Tillery missed a free throw, but the visitors got a pair of offensive rebounds and eventually turned it into two points to take a two-point lead with under five minutes to go. Tillery had a very good night and finished with 24 points.
4. Carolina played without Matt Able, who was not in uniform. The Tar Heels remain without Cameron Fens, who is awaiting eligibility clearance.
5. As you would expect, Charlotte head coach Wes Miller and 49ers assistant Marcus Paige got a big ovation when they were introduced before starting lineups. Their team plays hard and is going to be fun to watch this year.
6. The first half, in which Carolina led for just 25 seconds, was not a work of art. At the 10:30 mark, Charlotte held a 25-10 lead and was five of nine from three and 10-18 from the field. The Heels turned the ball over on the very first possession of the game and didn't warm up offensively until Neo Avdalas hit Jarin Stevenson with a lob for a dunk at the 4:08 mark to cut the deficit to 10.
7. After that play, the rest of the half was more palatable. That included the 49ers failing to execute when they could have had the last shot of the half and instead rushed a three. They missed it, which gave Maximo Adams the opportunity to drain a three-pointer before the halftime buzzer. That shot cut the deficit to a deceptive three points. The Tar Heels really didn't play well enough in the first half to be that close. Nine of those 33 points came in the final 90 seconds of the half.
8. Numbers Malone almost certainly talked about at the break: Charlotte's 20-17 rebounding edge, its 8-1 second-chance point edge, Tillery's 16 points in 16 minutes and UNC's 11-28 field goal shooting.
9. Carolina's leading scorer was Brown, who scored 27 points but needed 18 shots to do it. He was joined in double figures by Jaydon Young, who hit three big three-pointers and scored 11, Neo Avdalas (16 points, team-high nine rebounds, team-high five assists), Sayon Keita (12 points) and Jarin Stevenson (12 points).
9. Alex Samodurov had some of the best minutes of his young career in the second half. The big man had an offensive rebound and basket, then a steal and a hit-ahead to Jaydon Young for a layup. He followed that up a minute later by grabbing a steal, pushing the ball up the court and delivering a ball fake and layup for a five-point UNC lead. Samodurov finished with just six points and one rebound, but that was an encouraging stretch. He finished +2.
10. The Tar Heels open the regular season against Western Carolina on Monday at 7 p.m. That's the first of six straight games at the Smith Center, which means it's a good time to remind everyone that the ticket office has new flex passes on sale this year that enable fans to get good single game ticket prices while retaining flexibility about which games they attend. And in an answer to a frequently asked question, they can be exchanged for any ticket that is available at the time of exchange--not just a specific subset of upper level seats.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballWednesday, October 28
Wednesday, October 28
Tuesday, October 27
Tuesday, October 27