GREENSBORO, N.C.— North Carolina used relentless defense to spark a second-half run and pull away from Southern California, 88-70, in the preseason opener for both teams on Friday night in the First Horizon Coliseum.
 
The Tar Heels forced USC to miss 15 of its first 20 shots after halftime while forcing 10 turnovers in the final 20 minutes. Carolina took control with a 12-0 second-half run, holding the Trojans scoreless for almost six minutes. USC shot just 26.5 percent after halftime.
 
The game marked Michael Malone‘s first public appearance as the Tar Heel head coach after being hired in April.
 
Jarin Stevenson’s double-double included game highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds. Isaiah Denis scored 14 points, including 10 with a pair of three-pointers in the first half. Neo Avdalas added 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists before fouling out in the final minute. Freshman Maximo Adams scored 11 with six boards.
 
Carolina took the lead at 56-53 on a three-pointer by Alex Samodurov and led for the final 10:42, outscoring USC 32-17 in that final stretch.
 
After falling behind, 10-3, in the opening minutes, Carolina rode the hot hand of Denis and the gritty energy of Adams to claw back and eventually tie the score at 20-all with under nine minutes left in the half. Denis scored 10 of Carolina’s 13 points during one stretch midway through the half.
 
The teams traded baskets and the lead for the rest of the half until Carolina went cold late, missing 7 of 8 shots down the stretch before the break until Avdalas’ three-point play tied the score at 37 with 38.9 seconds on the clock. USC led, 39-37, at the half after a moving screen by Samodurov on Carolina’s final possession.
 
UNC out-rebounded the bigger Trojans, 23-17, and outscored USC, 13-3, off turnovers while committing just three but shot only 35.5 percent collectively in the half.
 
Stevenson and Sayon Keita combined to score Carolina’s first 10 second-half points, then the Tar Heels ripped off a 12-0 run in 3:27 to take a 61-53 lead and force a Trojan timeout with 9:16 remaining.
 
UNC’s defense clamped down and forced seven turnovers in under five minutes to spark the burst, as USC went scoreless for nearly six minutes.
 
Rodney Rice led USC with 22 points, while Alijah Arenas scored 17.

How It Happened

First Half

• After Stevenson’s three-pointer to open the game, USC hit three of its first four from long range, jumped out to a 10-3 lead and forced an early UNC timeout.

• The Tar Heels pulled back within a point at 12-11 with an 8-2 run that included five points by Adams and a three by Denis. Carolina tied it at 20-20 with under nine minutes on the clock.

• It was close the rest of the half with four lead changes and neither team leading by more than five in the final 8:56. Despite UNC going over 3:30 without a field goal and missing 7 of 8 after the final media timeout, the Trojans led by just a pair at the break, 39-37.

 

Second Half

• Stevenson hit back-to-back three-pointers to start the second half, and Keita scored four in a row on a pair of free throws and a follow dunk. After a layup by Stevenson, Carolina took a 49-48 into the under-16:00 timeout.

• The Tar Heels turned it over four times in a span of 4:16 but clung with a bucket at the next timeout as USC missed 12 of its first 17 second-half shots and went scoreless for over four minutes.

•  Carolina raced to a 12-0 run in 3:27 to take a 61-53 lead and force a Trojan timeout with 9:16 remaining.

• UNC expanded its lead to 11 at 69-58 with under five minutes to go, playing aggressively offensively while controlling the game with its defense down the stretch.

• USC never got closer than an eight-point deficit in the final five minutes, and Carolina eventually led by as many as 18 points in the final minutes.

 

Notes

• Carolina started a lineup of guards Terrence Brown, Matt Able and Avdalas and big men Stevenson and Keita.

• The game is the first of two Tar Heel preseason games this fall against Big Ten opponents. Carolina will face Indiana at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Sunday October 18.

• UNC also will play in-state foe Charlotte at home in the Smith Center on October 27 to close the preseason. 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.

 

 

Up Next

After a nine-day break to focus on practices and workouts, Carolina will journey to Indianapolis to play Indiana in another preseason contest on October 18. That game will begin at 5 p.m. and will be streamed by B1G+.

 

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