UNCASVILLE, Conn. — No. 6 Purdue showed that its high-scoring offense works, no matter the level of competition.
Sasha Stefanovic scored 23 points and Jaden Ivey put up 22 points to go along with his 10 rebounds as the Boilermakers beat No. 18 North Carolina 93-84 Saturday in the first round of the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament.
Trevion Williams added 20 points for Purdue (4-0), which has scored at least 90 points in all four of its games this season.
“I don’t think we can average 90 points,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “A lot of people across the country that have players, their offense is better than their defense right now. We’re one of those teams.”
Dawson Garcia hit 10 of his 13 shots and led UNC (3-1) with 26 points before fouling out. R.J. Davis and Caleb Love each added 18 points for the Tar Heels.
Purdue led 41-35 at the half and by eight points early in the second half before the Tar Heels went on a run. A 3-pointer by Davis made it 60-59 and Garcia gave UNC its only lead of the game with a long 3-pointer from the left wing to make it 65-64 with about nine minutes left.
But Purdue responded with 10-0 run, going up 74-65 on a 3-point play by Ivey. UNC could not catch them again.
“I think we were resilient,” Ivey said. “There were a couple of times we could have given up and we didn’t. We just kept playing, didn’t give up and just kept playing hard.”
Hubert Davis, who lost for the first time as UNC’s coach, said there was a lot his team can take from the game.
“Their toughness, their will and their want-to in the second half I thought was really good. It wasn’t good enough,” he said. “But I was proud of that and I told them that this is a great opportunity for us to learn.”
It was the first game between the two programs since November 1999. UNC had won eight straight games in the series dating back to the 1970s.
BIG PICTURE
UNC: Armando Bacot, who scored 22 and 24 points in the Tar Heels’ last two games, had trouble getting over and around Purdue’s big men. He finished with just two points in 17 minutes before fouling out.
Purdue: The Boilermakers shot 56% from the floor and made 10 of their 23 attempts from behind the arc.
“To be consistent and advance in the tournament or win a championship in our league, you’re going to have to be a good defensive team,” Painter said. “We’re not going to be able to outscore everybody. The ball doesn’t go in like that.”
Purdue is looking for its first in-season tournament title since November 2016, when it won in Cancun.
FOUL TROUBLE
The teams combined for 36 fouls, but UNC did not go to the line in the first half — the first time that has happened in seven years. The Tar Heels were 10 of 12 in foul shots in the second half.
AN OLD FRIEND
Former Tar Heels coach Roy Williams was in the crowd and got a huge ovation from UNC fans who made the trip north when he was shown on the scoreboard in the first half.
UP NEXT
UNC: Plays No. 17 Tennessee in a consolation game Sunday afternoon.
Wake Forest 87, NC A&T 63
WINSTON-SALEM — Alondes Williams scored 19 points, Daivien Williamson added 18 and Isaiah Mucius 16 to lead Wake Forest to a 87-63 victory over North Carolina A&T on Saturday.
Williams (3 of 4), Williamson (4 of 7) and Mucius (4 of 7) led a 3-point barrage in which the Demon Deacons made 16 of 35 from distance. Wake Forest made more 3-pointers than 2-point field goals (13) or free throws (13).
Milton Matthews led the Aggies with 15 points. Demetric Horton scored 11 and Webster Filmore 10. Matthews and Horton made three 3-pointers each.
There were 60 3-point tries in the game. Wake Forest made 16 of 35 (46%) and NC A&T made 10 of 25 (40%).
Wake Forest (4-0) led 24-9 midway through the first half but four free throws followed by 3-pointers from Jeremy Robinson and Matthews drew the Aggies within 24-19. Wake Forest then made eight 3-pointers in six minutes to lead 50-29 at halftime.
The Aggies (1-4) scored just six points in the first eight minutes of the second half as the Demon Deacons continued to pull away.
UNC Wilmington 67, Delaware State 63
DOVER, Del. — Mike Okauru had 22 points as UNC Wilmington narrowly defeated Delaware State 67-63 on Saturday.
Jaylen Sims had 17 points and six rebounds for UNC Wilmington (3-2). Jaylen Fornes added 11 points and six rebounds.
Myles Carter tied a career high with 24 points and had 10 rebounds for the Hornets (2-3). Dominik Fragala added 13 points. Corey Perkins had 12 points.
High Point 73, Howard 63
HIGH POINT — John-Michael Wright had 20 points as High Point beat Howard 73-63 on Saturday.
Bryant Randleman had 15 points for High Point (2-2). Zach Austin added 14 points, eight rebounds and seven blocks. Jaden House had 14 points and six rebounds.
Steve Settle III had 21 points for the Bison (3-2). Randall Brumant added 10 points and three blocks. Elijah Hawkins had six rebounds and six assists.
Western Carolina 80, American 79
FARMVILLE, Va. — Nick Robinson had 20 points as Western Carolina held on to beat American 80-79 on Saturday night.
Cam Bacote had 16 points for Western Carolina (2-3). Joe Petrakis added 15 points. Vonterius Woolbright had 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
Alabama State 80, NC Central 74 (OT)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Gerald Liddell had a career-high 22 points plus 11 rebounds as Alabama State defeated NC Central 80-74 in overtime on Saturday night.
Jordan O’Neal had 19 points and 14 rebounds for Alabama State (1-5), which ended its season-opening five-game losing streak. Juan Reyna added 14 points. Isaiah Range had 11 points.
Randy Miller Jr. had 23 points for the Eagles (0-4), who have now lost four games in a row to start the season.
Gardner-Webb 100, Carver 38
BOILING SPRINGS — Kareem Reid scored 20 points as Gardner-Webb rolled past Carver College 100-38 on Saturday.
D’Maurian Williams had 13 points and eight rebounds for Gardner-Webb (1-3). Jordan Sears added 13 points and Lance Terry had 12.
