No. 1 Tar Heels defeat Seahawks in season opener

CHAPEL HILL, NC (UNCW Athletics) — Top-ranked North Carolina built a working margin and withstood several runs by 2022 College Basketball Invitational champion UNCW for a 69-56 victory in the season opener for both teams late Monday at the Dean E. Smith Center.

The Seahawks, playing the first of nine games in the opening month of the new season, return to the coast to entertain Allen on Friday in the home opener at Trask Coliseum. Tip is set for 7 p.m. against the Yellow Jackets.

Sophomore guard Trazarien White led the way with a game-high 19 points for the Seahawks, who went 27-9 last season. The total was just two off his career high of 21 set last December vs. Mount Olive. Senior guard Shykeim Phillips and junior guard Donovan Newby chipped in 11 and 10 points.

The guard tandem of Caleb Love and RJ Davis paced North Carolina with 17 points apiece. Senior forward Armando Bacot added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Tar Heels, who shot 45.8 percent on the night.

“We don’t do moral victories, but I was very proud of how hard our guys fought,” said Takayo Siddle, UNCW’s third-year head coach. “There are some things we need to clean up. Down the stretch, I thought we got loose a little bit. We have a lot to be proud of and a lot to build on.”

The Seahawks, who shot just 29.3 percent from the field, converted 18-fo-24 free throws and outrebounded the Tar Heels, 37-32, on the glass.

In the sixth meeting between the two teams, North Carolina, which earned 47 of a possible 62 first-place votes in the Preseason AP poll, found itself in a tight battle before 19,744 fans at the light blue venue. It was the first time the Seahawks had faced a No. 1 team in its 72-year hoops history.

After carving out a 32-21 advantage at the break, the Tar Heels led by as many as 16 points early in the final period before the Seahawks narrowed the deficit to 10. North Carolina then held off the Seahawks with several key baskets and clutch free throw shooting down the stretch.

Trailing, 41-25, after a bucket in traffic by Bacot, the Seahawks strung together six consecutive points, capped by a conventional three-point play by White that closed the gap to 41-31. The Seahawks then whittled the lead down to eight, 43-35, when White converted both ends of a bonus situation at 10:30.

Freshman guard Seth Trimble came off the bench, however, to give the Tar Heels a spark and North Carolina scored eight of the next 10 points to get the margin back to 51-37. Trimble had four points in the spurt for the hosts. The lead then ballooned to 16 points until the Seahawks chopped away again to get the deficit down to 63-54 with just over a minute remaining.

In the first half, North Carolina used a heavy advantage at the free throw line to inch away from the pesky Seahawks. Both teams had nine field goals, but the Tar Heels outscored the Seahawks at the charity stripe, 12-2, over the opening 20 minutes to open up a 32-21 advantage at halftime.

UNCW scored eight out of the first 10 points in the contest and a free throw jumper by White with 16:51 remaining in the first half gave the Seahawks an 8-2 advantage.

But the Tar Heels reeled off 10 consecutive points to move ahead, 12-8, following a spin move by Bacot at the 13:17 mark. North Carolina was clinging to a 21-19 edge at the four minute mark, but outscored the Seahawks, 11-2, the rest of the period for a comfortable halftime lead.

North Carolina’s four assists represented the fewest by a Tar Heel team since a 1980 NCAA matchup with Texas A&M. UNCW’s three assists was the fewest by a North Carolina opponent since three by Kentucky on Dec. 8, 1975.

The contest was one of 10 Monday night games for CAA teams to kick off the new season.

UNCW-UNC Net Notes: There were three ties and three lead changes…The Seahawks had 16 offensive rebounds to just seven for the Tar Heels…North Carolina moved to 6-0 against UNCW and 4-0 against the visitors from the coast in Chapel Hill…UNCW was the first CAA team to open at the preseason No. 1 since Elon visited Duke to begin the 2017-18 campaign…The Seahawks are 1-36 against ranked opponents through the years… UNCW stands 26-31 in season openers…The Tar Heels haven’t dropped a season opener since the 2001-02 season…Amari Kelly and Maleeck Harden-Hayes both fouled out in the contest…North Carolina is the only Atlantic Coast Conference opponent for the Seahawks this season.