University of North Carolina Athletics
Tuesday, October 27
Chapel Hill
7:30 p.m.
North Carolina
0-0,0-0ACC
89
vs
82
Charlotte (Preseason)
0-0,0-0American
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | 36 | 42 | 4 | 82 |
| North Carolina | 33 | 45 | 11 | 89 |
Terrence Brown
Photo by: DALTON WAINSCOTT
October 27, 2026 | Men's Basketball
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— North Carolina trailed by as many as 15 points in the first half before coming back to beat Charlotte, 89-82, in overtime in the final preseason contest for both teams on Tuesday night at the Smith Center. After struggling for much of the night, the Tar Heel defense clamped down when it mattered most and forced the 49ers to miss their last seven shots in the extra period.
Terrence Brown played his best game of the preseason and led the way for the Tar Heels with 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting.
"You saw a more aggressive Terrence," Jaydon Young said. "You saw him miss a few shots to start off and still kind of keep himself out there in a great mindset. So that's the Terrence we expect. That's the Terrence we know."
The Tar Heels led for just 25 seconds, all in the first half, until a Young three-pointer with 11:51 to play in the game gave them a 50-49 advantage. Carolina never pulled away but led for most of the rest of the way before allowing the 49ers to retake a five-point lead in the final four minutes.
With the 49ers leading, 78-77, with 16.9 seconds to go in regulation, Frank Oguche turned it over by calling a timeout when Charlotte had none remaining, resulting in a technical foul. Brown hit 1 of 2 free throws to tie it and force extra time. UNC outscored the 49ers, 11-4, in OT and held them scoreless for the final 3:41.
It was head coach Michael Malone's first game in the Smith Center.
"You're never satisfied," said Malone. "So I think our guys are, of course, you're happy that you win, but I think we all know collectively that we can and we have to play a lot better. The season is upon us. There's no more exhibition games. We're done…So we have to clean things up in a hurry. We have to take ownership of that…I think everybody was thankful that we got through the game. We were able to pull out a win. Nobody got hurt, while also fully understanding, there's much work to be done."
Young scored all 11 of his points in the second half, connecting on 3 of 4 three-pointers. Neo Avdalas continued to display his well-rounded skills, posting 16 points and game highs with nine rebounds and five assists. Sayon Keita and Jarin Stevenson each scored 12 points.
Charlotte's Keyshaun Tillery scored 16 points in 16 first-half minutes and finished with 24, hitting five three-pointers. Chaze Harris hit 6 of 7 shots and scored 14 for the 49ers.
Charlotte started blazing hot from the floor against a flat Tar Heel squad, hitting 10 of its first 18 shots before cooling off to shoot 45.5 in the first half. The 49ers hit six three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, leading for 18:17 and by as many as 15 points before Carolina began chipping away at its deficit.
"I told them early in one of the huddles, I said, 'Man, take a deep breath, relax,'" Malone said. "These guys work so hard… and the first time in front of a home crowd, and I thought they were just kind of very excited."
The Tar Heels pulled within three at 36-33 on a three-pointer by Maximo Adams, capping a 19-7 run to finish the half. Charlotte missed 9 of its last 12 shots before the break.
After shooting below 30 percent for much of the first, UNC hit 7 of its final 10 attempts to finish at 39.3 percent at halftime. Brown led Carolina with 12 points, while Tillery hit 4 of 5 three-pointers for a game-high 16 at the break.
Tar Heel sophomore guard Matt Able was not in uniform and did not play on Tuesday night. Nor did graduate transfer center Cameron Fens, who continues to await a ruling on his potential fifth-year eligibility.
The 49ers are led by head coach and former Tar Heel guard Wes Miller and assistant coach Marcus Paige, another UNC alum who served for three seasons on former head coach Hubert Davis' staff at Carolina.
"I'm really grateful to Coach Malone, he's done such a remarkable job in kind of embracing the Carolina family and all that, and it meant a lot to me," Miller said. "I know a lot of the teammates and friends that have been part of this program in the past. So I'm really grateful to him for allowing us to come in and play."
How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina missed 8 of its first 10 shots and allowed the 49ers to jump out to a 10-5 lead in the opening minutes. Meanwhile, Charlotte hit four three-pointers in the first eight minutes to take an 18-8 lead at the second timeout.
• The 49ers then used a 7-0 run to build its lead to 25-10, making seven consecutive shots while holding the Tar Heels without a field goal for over five minutes until Stevenson snapped the drought with a corner three.
• Charlotte led by as many as 15 at 29-14 with 5:28 left in the first half. Carolina finished the half on a 19-7 run.
Second Half
• A Young three-pointer with 13:39 to play tied the score at 45, the first time the 49ers hadn't led since the opening 3:17 of the game.
• Ninety seconds later, another Young triple gave Carolina its first lead since the 17:08 mark of the first half at 50-49.
• The teams traded baskets for much of the remainder of the game. Charlotte retook the lead at 74-69 with a 6-0 run over 1:29 in the final four minutes.
• Carolina tied it at 78 on a free throw by Brown with 16.9 seconds on the clock after the officials assessed Charlotte with a technical foul for calling a timeout when it had none remaining.
Overtime
• Standing immediately in front of the UNC bench, Stevenson hit a three-pointer with 2:12 remaining to give Carolina an 85-82 lead, then the Tar Heel defense forced a stop and Avdalas hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 86-82 with 1:24 left.
• After another Charlotte miss, Brown ran some clock in the midcourt, then drilled a three for an 89-82 lead with 40 seconds to go.
• The 49ers missed their last seven shots of the game as Carolina finished on a 9-0 run to grab the victory.
Up Next
Carolina will open its regular season on Monday night at 7 p.m. on ACC Network against Western Carolina.
Stay up to date on the latest Tar Heel men's basketball news on X at @UNC_Basketball and @UNCMBBstats and on Instagram at UNC_Basketball.
Terrence Brown played his best game of the preseason and led the way for the Tar Heels with 27 points on 9 of 18 shooting.
"You saw a more aggressive Terrence," Jaydon Young said. "You saw him miss a few shots to start off and still kind of keep himself out there in a great mindset. So that's the Terrence we expect. That's the Terrence we know."
The Tar Heels led for just 25 seconds, all in the first half, until a Young three-pointer with 11:51 to play in the game gave them a 50-49 advantage. Carolina never pulled away but led for most of the rest of the way before allowing the 49ers to retake a five-point lead in the final four minutes.
With the 49ers leading, 78-77, with 16.9 seconds to go in regulation, Frank Oguche turned it over by calling a timeout when Charlotte had none remaining, resulting in a technical foul. Brown hit 1 of 2 free throws to tie it and force extra time. UNC outscored the 49ers, 11-4, in OT and held them scoreless for the final 3:41.
It was head coach Michael Malone's first game in the Smith Center.
"You're never satisfied," said Malone. "So I think our guys are, of course, you're happy that you win, but I think we all know collectively that we can and we have to play a lot better. The season is upon us. There's no more exhibition games. We're done…So we have to clean things up in a hurry. We have to take ownership of that…I think everybody was thankful that we got through the game. We were able to pull out a win. Nobody got hurt, while also fully understanding, there's much work to be done."
Young scored all 11 of his points in the second half, connecting on 3 of 4 three-pointers. Neo Avdalas continued to display his well-rounded skills, posting 16 points and game highs with nine rebounds and five assists. Sayon Keita and Jarin Stevenson each scored 12 points.
Charlotte's Keyshaun Tillery scored 16 points in 16 first-half minutes and finished with 24, hitting five three-pointers. Chaze Harris hit 6 of 7 shots and scored 14 for the 49ers.
Charlotte started blazing hot from the floor against a flat Tar Heel squad, hitting 10 of its first 18 shots before cooling off to shoot 45.5 in the first half. The 49ers hit six three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes, leading for 18:17 and by as many as 15 points before Carolina began chipping away at its deficit.
"I told them early in one of the huddles, I said, 'Man, take a deep breath, relax,'" Malone said. "These guys work so hard… and the first time in front of a home crowd, and I thought they were just kind of very excited."
The Tar Heels pulled within three at 36-33 on a three-pointer by Maximo Adams, capping a 19-7 run to finish the half. Charlotte missed 9 of its last 12 shots before the break.
After shooting below 30 percent for much of the first, UNC hit 7 of its final 10 attempts to finish at 39.3 percent at halftime. Brown led Carolina with 12 points, while Tillery hit 4 of 5 three-pointers for a game-high 16 at the break.
Tar Heel sophomore guard Matt Able was not in uniform and did not play on Tuesday night. Nor did graduate transfer center Cameron Fens, who continues to await a ruling on his potential fifth-year eligibility.
The 49ers are led by head coach and former Tar Heel guard Wes Miller and assistant coach Marcus Paige, another UNC alum who served for three seasons on former head coach Hubert Davis' staff at Carolina.
"I'm really grateful to Coach Malone, he's done such a remarkable job in kind of embracing the Carolina family and all that, and it meant a lot to me," Miller said. "I know a lot of the teammates and friends that have been part of this program in the past. So I'm really grateful to him for allowing us to come in and play."
How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina missed 8 of its first 10 shots and allowed the 49ers to jump out to a 10-5 lead in the opening minutes. Meanwhile, Charlotte hit four three-pointers in the first eight minutes to take an 18-8 lead at the second timeout.
• The 49ers then used a 7-0 run to build its lead to 25-10, making seven consecutive shots while holding the Tar Heels without a field goal for over five minutes until Stevenson snapped the drought with a corner three.
• Charlotte led by as many as 15 at 29-14 with 5:28 left in the first half. Carolina finished the half on a 19-7 run.
Second Half
• A Young three-pointer with 13:39 to play tied the score at 45, the first time the 49ers hadn't led since the opening 3:17 of the game.
• Ninety seconds later, another Young triple gave Carolina its first lead since the 17:08 mark of the first half at 50-49.
• The teams traded baskets for much of the remainder of the game. Charlotte retook the lead at 74-69 with a 6-0 run over 1:29 in the final four minutes.
• Carolina tied it at 78 on a free throw by Brown with 16.9 seconds on the clock after the officials assessed Charlotte with a technical foul for calling a timeout when it had none remaining.
Overtime
• Standing immediately in front of the UNC bench, Stevenson hit a three-pointer with 2:12 remaining to give Carolina an 85-82 lead, then the Tar Heel defense forced a stop and Avdalas hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 86-82 with 1:24 left.
• After another Charlotte miss, Brown ran some clock in the midcourt, then drilled a three for an 89-82 lead with 40 seconds to go.
• The 49ers missed their last seven shots of the game as Carolina finished on a 9-0 run to grab the victory.
Up Next
Carolina will open its regular season on Monday night at 7 p.m. on ACC Network against Western Carolina.
Stay up to date on the latest Tar Heel men's basketball news on X at @UNC_Basketball and @UNCMBBstats and on Instagram at UNC_Basketball.
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
C
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballTeam Stats
CLT
UNC
FG%
.446
.508
3FG%
.323
.414
FT%
.778
.630
RB
36
30
TO
16
14
STL
7
10
Game Leaders
Pts
27
FGM
9
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
3
FTM
1
Pts
12
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Wednesday, October 28
Wednesday, October 28
Tuesday, October 27
Tuesday, October 27