CHARLOTTE — Despite a second-half comeback, the North Carolina men’s basketball team (6-5, 1-0 ACC) fell to No. 7 Florida (11-0, 0-0 SEC), 90-84, Tuesday night in the Jumpman Invitational at the Spectrum Center.
The Tar Heels trailed by 17 in the first half but started the second on an 11-0 run. Graduate guard RJ Davis spearheaded the comeback with 29 points. UNC did not have enough in the final minutes to overcome the rough start.
North Carolina is now 0-5 against Power Five non-conference opponents.
First-year forward Drake Powell scored the first points of the game with a tough turnaround jumper. Florida then rattled off a quick 10-0 run. The Gators started hot, shooting 9-15 from the field and 5-8 from distance in the first eight minutes.
Florida led, 23-10, at the under-12 timeout in the first half. UNC missed its first 11 attempts from three-point range before sophomore guard Elliot Cadeau canned one with under five minutes to go in the first half.
Junior guard Seth Trimble finished through contact at the rim with under a minute to go, and the Tar Heels cut the lead to 46-34 at the break.
UNC exploded in the first three minutes of the second half. Davis drilled a three. Trimble got a steal and finished in the open floor. Junior forward Ven-Allen Lubin scored four points, punctuated by a putback slam after a block. Following a Florida timeout, Davis knocked down a midrange jumper, and the lead was down to one.
Florida absorbed UNC’s punch and led 56-51 at the under-16 timeout. Davis and graduate forward Jae’Lyn Withers both missed open threes that would have tied the game at 60. On the next possession, Denzel Aberdeen drilled a triple to make the Florida lead six with 12:09 to go.
The Tar Heels took the lead for the first time since 2-0 just before the under-eight timeout. First-year guard Ian Jackson scored six quick points. Trimble got a steal and finished in transition, plus a foul, to put North Carolina up, 69-68.
