The North Carolina men's basketball team defeated Memphis 84-76 in the first Hoops for St. Jude Classic exhibition game.
“Coach Penny Hardaway is an outstanding coach,” said North Carolina coach Hubert Davis postgame. “For them to play as a team tonight, alongside with their talent, it's a team that's definitely going to be an NCAA tournament team.”
Despite impressive stretches, North Carolina proved to be too much for Memphis.
“I learned a lot tonight," said Memphis coach Penny Hardaway. "I look forward to getting back to practice on Thursday."
The AP poll’s preseason number nine team, North Carolina, held out All-American guard RJ Davis for precautionary reasons. For Memphis, veteran center Moussa Cisse was unavailable.
North Carolina jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, but the Tigers battled back by attacking the basket with PJ Haggerty and Dain Dainja.
At the first media timeout, the Tar Heels led 11-10.
SMU transfer Tyreek Smith was the first Tiger off the bench, with PJ Carter and Baraka Okojie coming in shortly after.
Memphis found their way to the foul line and earned second chances to fight their way to the lead.
Tyrese Hunter came back into the game and quickly scored 7 points to extend the Tiger lead to as many as 13, but Seth Trimble and the Tar Heels fought back.
At the under-eight media timeout, Trimble led all scorers with 10, and Memphis led 29-23.
UNC continued to push back, and the Memphis offense really sputtered down the stretch of the half.
A pair of threes, one from Colby Rogers, who shot 40.9% from three a year ago, and one from PJ Haggerty, gave the Tigers a 39-36 halftime lead.
At the half, the difference was the free throw line. Memphis shot 9-12, while the Tar Heels shot an abysmal 4-9. Haggerty led the Tigers with 9 points, and Seth Trimble led all scorers with 14.
The second half started like the first half finished, with UNC locking down Memphis in the half-court and taking advantage on the other side of the court.
Memphis burned a quick timeout, as the Tar Heels established a 6-point lead.
Tyrese Hunter and Baraka Okojie gave Memphis a quick boost, but the Heels continued to attack PJ Haggerty.
"He's going to be a huge difference maker," said Hardaway of Okojie postgame. According to Hardaway, Okojie playing at all was a "surprise."
At the under-12, Carolina lead was 56-49.
UNC continued to pull away. The Tar Heels outscored Memphis 14-7 in the next four minutes to push their lead to 14.
Memphis stuck with a four-guard lineup and North Carolina continued to exploit their lack of true wings.
A Jared Harris steal and dunk followed by a PJ Haggerty steal and layup forced Hubert Davis and UNC to call a timeout with just over five minutes to go. The Tar Heels still led 76-65.
Memphis continued to pick up the defensive intensity, and PJ Haggerty drew a charge to go into the final media timeout with his team down just nine.
A Dain Dainja deadball technical foul gave Seth Trimble two free throws, pushing the Tar Heel lead back to eight with three minutes left.
After an empty trip for the Tigers, Trimble punched in a two-hand slam dunk to effectively seal the win for North Carolina.
The Tigers continued to battle, but the defensive intensity came too late for Memphis to complete their comeback attempt.
21 turnovers proved too much to overcome. PJ Haggerty led the way for Memphis with 24 points and 9 rebounds, while Seth Trimble finished with 33 points for North Carolina.
“That’s one of the best games I’ve ever seen since I’ve been here,” said Davis postgame on Trimble.
Memphis will look to bounce back when they play Alabama in their second exhibition game on October 28 in Huntsville, Alabama.
“I haven't lost optimism for the season," said Memphis guard Colby Rogers. "If anything I'm more excited."
