North Carolina rallied from 17 points down against No. 7 and unbeaten Florida to take a four-point lead late but fell apart as the Gators scored eight straight to defeat the Tar Heels 90-84 in the Jumpman Tournament in Charlotte. (12/17)

The Tar Heels started slow once again as Florida went on a 10-0 run to take control early, working the lead up to 17 in the first half before settling for a 46-34 halftime lead.

“It hasn’t been sustainable all year to play only one half of Carolina basketball,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said. “I’m proud of the way we got back in the game but the requirement is to bring the fight the whole game.”

Carolina rallied from its worst shooting half of the season (29.7 percent) to quickly cut the margin to one at 46-45 with 17:32 left after RJ Davis sank a long two pointer Cadto complete a 9-0 run.

UNC couldn’t get over the hump as Florida kept a lead in the three to seven-point range for most of the second half until a Davis jumper cut it back to one at 68-67 with 8:07 left. Then Carolina finally took the lead when Seth Trimble came up with a steal and falling-down layup. He was fouled and hit the free throw to put Carolina up 70-68 with 7:56 to go.

After Florida tied it, Davis hit a step-back three to put the Heels up 77-74 but olay defense from Eliot Cadeau allowed the Gators’ Clayton to score and draw the foul, tying it back up.

Cadeau, who had seven assists, found an open Davis under the basket for a bucket before whipping it to Jalen Washington who scored down the lane for an 81-77 Carolian lead with just 4:03 left.

But the Tar Heels, who may have gotten tired after the big comeback, fell apart. Davis missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation and Lubin missed a free throw. Cadeau lost the ball out of bounds and Davis threw up a long three that was way off.

Meanwhile Florida was getting offensive rebounds and put backs and free throws, going on an 8-0 run over the last 1:49. The Gators came down with 11 second-chance points in the last six minutes.

“We made them miss but they got the rebound,” Coach Davis said. Carolina held the Gators to only 39 percent shooting in the second half after Florida had shot 53 percent in the first half.

Carolina’s shooting was not good throughout as the Heels shot a season-low 17.9 percent from three and managed to hit only 13 of 19 from the free throw line.

Davis, who hit only three of 11 from three, led the Tar Heels with 29 points, going seven of eight from two-point range. Trimble, Cadeau and Ian Jackson also hit double figures with 11 points each.

Will Richard led Florida, now 11-0, with 22 points as he hit eight of 10 shots including three triples.

The Tar Heels, who fall to 6-5 on the season, have another tough one Saturday afternoon as they take on UCLA in New York.

Box score

North Carolina finally put together a complete game with transfer Cade Tyson finally showing Tar Heel fans his shooting touch with 23 points off the bench as the home team beat LaSalle 93-67. (12/14)

“It was probably our most complete game all season,” UNC coach Hubert Davis said noting that the defense did a good job protecting the paint and boxing out to get rebounds. “On offense, our pace was good and we did a good job sharing the basketball.”

Coach Davis said his squad could have done a better job from the free throw line it would have been a complete game. The Heels missed 12 free throws, going a season-low 11 of 23 from the stripe.

It looked as if the Tar Heels might continue their slow starts as the Explorer got out to a quick 8-2 lead but even more quickly Carolina turned it around, going on a 16-0 run to set the tone for the rest of the game.

Carolina led by as many as 19 points in the first as a Tyson dunk late in the half gave the Heels a 42-23 lead before settling for a 42-25 lead at the break.

Tyson had averaged just 2.7 points a game and had hit just four threes all season. In this one, he scored five three pointers and was nine of 14 from the floor with five rebounds, two steals and a block in 21 minutes of play.

“Cade played with confidence after having a really good week of practice,” Coach Davis said. “We need him.” Davis said that his size and ability to shoot is important to his team which hasn’t been consistent from beyond the arc.

Tyson said, “Good things happen to those who work hard.” Despite his scoring 23 of Carolina’s 49 bench points, he pointed to the defense as a key. The Tar Heels held the Explorers to just over 35 percent shooting while shooting more than 57 percent themselves.

Other Tar Heels in double figures were RJ Davis with 13 and Seth Trimble and Ven-Allen Lubin with 10 each.

Demetreus Lilley led LaSalle, now 6-4, with 16 points after going four of eight from behind the three-point line.

The Tar Heels, who improve to 6-4 on the season, play Tuesday night in Charlotte against unbeaten Florida.

Box score

NC State wide receivers Noah Rogers and Wesley Grimes announced tonight that they are locked in with the Wolfpack for 2025 after reaching an agreement with One Pack NIL. Please click here for more.

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The second-most well-known connection between North Carolina’s football program and the New England Patriots, Drake Maye, has spoken out about Bill Belichick taking the gridiron helm in Chapel Hill. Please click here for more.

Bill Belichick explained why he made the jump in his first statement as North Carolina’s head coach. Time will tell whether or not this is just quite crazy enough to work, or whether this will be an abject disaster to take Belichick, a career NFL coach, to the college level to coach teenagers and student-athletes in their early 20s in a new era for the sport. Please click here for more.
For comments from UNC officials, please click here.

The 72-year-old Bill Belichick, though, has a bevy of options who are seeking a fresh collegiate start. Including talent who officially announced for the portal Wednesday before UNC offered the head coaching job to Belichick. Here’s who the 35th head coach in UNC history can target — which is three on offense, three on defense. Please click here for more.

Congratulations, North Carolina. You managed to hire someone completely unqualified to be your next football coach. You did that thing so many schools do where they try to win the press conference instead of win football games. It rarely works. Please click here for more.

National champions! The queens of college soccer have reclaimed their crown. North Carolina won the 2024 NCAA Division I women’s soccer championship, the program’s 23rd national title and first since 2012. Please click here for more.

North Carolina turned the ball over more than any other game and the Tar Heels shot worse than any other game but somehow the home team did enough to get past Georgia Tech 68-65. (12/7)

Carolina took a slim 31-30 into the half after trailing by as many as eight points. After eight lead changes and five ties to start the second half, the Tar Heels managed four straight points with about five minutes left to take a modest 59-55 lead. Jalen Washington took a pass from Eliot Cadeau and dunked, then seconds later RJ Davis hit a driving layup in transition.

The Heels never trailed again but it remained close. A long three from Cadeau with less than three minutes left at the end of the shot clock to make it 62-57 was the big basket to keep the Jackets at bay. Carolina hit six free throws in a row to wrap it up down the stretch.

“Winning in this league is difficult so when you are able to come out with a win it’s something to celebrate,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis, who noted that his team had long faces in the lockerroom after the game.

He was disappointed with the team’s season-high 18 turnovers. “We were trying to hit the home run rather than make the simple play,” he said, adding that his squad is a bit wounded after losing three in a row and traveling so much.

Carolina shot a season-low 39 percent but was able to hold Georgia Tech to just 31 percent. The Heels were just five of 24 from beyond the arc.

On a positive note, the Tar Heels made better use of the Yellow Jackets’ 14 miscues by outscoring the visitors 17-15 off turnovers. In addition, while Georgia Tech has been a strong rebounding team so far this year, the Tar Heels outrebounded them 48-39. The Heels also outscored Tech in the paint 34-21, mainly on drives to the hoop. Finally, transition points went Carolina’s way 16-5.

Seth Trimble was Carolina’s rock as he went four of five from the floor and eight of nine from the foul line for 19 points. Davis added 16 points but he’s still now shooting well as he hit only five of 15 shots. Ian Jackson was the only other Tar Heel in double figures with 15 points.

Lance Terry led Georgia Tech, now 4-5, with 22 points with most of his points coming on the free throw line or beyond the arc. Teammate Baye Ndongo handled the inside points by adding 19.

The Tar Heels, who improve to 5-4 on the season and 1-0 in the ACC, have the week off for exams and then play at home against LaSalle at 4 p.m. Saturday.

For a box score and more on the game, please click here.