UNC kicked off the Michael Malone era with an 80-72 win against Western Carolina that was rather nerve-racking down the stretch. Some of the pain points that were evident during the exhibition games definitely showed they were not resolved in this one, but the Tar Heels found a way to scratch out the win despite being out-scored 42-41 in the second half.
Even though the Catamounts never had a lead in the game, they cut the UNC advantage to just one point well into the second half. They had multiple chances to take the lead, and UNC allowed them to keep hanging around by not converting on the other end. Things imploded a bit for Western Carolina when Jaeden Roberts fouled out. Shortly thereafter, there was a foul on the defensive end of the court immediately followed by a frustration technical on the part of Tayeshaun Smith. The Tar Heels converted all four of their free throws to give themselves a little bit of breathing room.
Both teams racked up points at the free throw line, thanks to 45 total fouls in the game. UNC left some points on the line late in the game, but ended up making 25 0f their 35 attempts. Western Carolina converted on 22 of their 27 attempts at the line. Turnovers were even at nine a piece, but the Tar Heels turned those into 12 points. Western Carolina scored just five points off the Heels’ giveaways.
Matt Able led the way in scoring for Carolina with 18 points ahead of Terrence Brown with 14 points and five rebounds. Brown scored eight of his points at the free throw line. He finished with two assists. Neo Avdalas and Maximo Adams rounded out the double figure scorers with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Avdalas had the team-high in rebounds with seven. The team as a whole shot 42% from the field and went 9-30 from beyond the arc. Jaydon Young had two big three-pointers off the bench.
Rebounding continues to look like a weak spot of this team in the early going. The Catamounts bested the Heels on the boards, 41-32. That number includes a 13-7 offensive rebounding margin which led to a 13-8 second-chance point advantage for Western Carolina.
While it was good to see the team bend and not break when things got tight late, it still looks very much like a team that is a work in progress. Michael Malone was routinely pulling all five starters off the floor and replacing them with a new lineup like Roy Williams would do when he needed to chew his starters out for an extended period of time. As much as you hope all the kinks are worked out by the time the games start to count, it seems like there is still plenty to figure out about how all the pieces Malone has assembled will click together.
Next up, UNC takes on Wofford in the Dean Dome on Friday night.