Behind 20 points from junior forward Garrison Brooks on Wednesday afternoon in the Bahamas–which tied his career-high–the No. 6 UNC men’s basketball team managed to grind out a hard-fought 76-67 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide as part of the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament Quarterfinals.

Brooks also had six rebounds in a game where four of UNC’s five starters scored in double figures, while the fifth–sophomore Leaky Black–ended the day with nine points of his own.

Freshman forward Armando Bacot joined Brooks in finding success inside, as he finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds. In addition, point guard Cole Anthony tallied 13 points, six assists and seven rebounds.

The fourth Tar Heel in double figures was senior guard Brandon Robinson, who finished with 12 points and was responsible for three of UNC’s five made three-point shots.

UNC (5-0) shot just 40 percent as a team and received just 10 combined points from its bench trio of Andrew Platek, Christian Keeling and Justin Pierce in what became yet another sluggish offensive performance to open the season.

Through five games this season, the Tar Heels have still yet to score 80 points. This extends the longest streak the program has ever gone to begin a season in 17 years under head coach Roy Williams.

Without many perimeter players besides Anthony that can create their own shot, UNC has had to go back to its roots to get wins like this–pounding the glass and making the most of chances inside the paint.

For the game, the Tar Heels scored 40 points in the paint and outrebounded Alabama (2-3) by an incredible 60-31 margin. Of those rebounds, 23 came on the offensive end–turning into 23 second-chance points.

On the other end, Alabama did the majority of its damage from three-point range. The Crimson Tide made 11 threes in the game, with seven coming courtesy of John Petty Jr., who led the team with 23 points.

Up Next:

The Tar Heels will take on first year head coach Juwan Howard’s Michigan Wolverines in Thursday’s semifinals at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday’s action saw Michigan defeat Iowa State.

Game Notes:

  • Brooks accounted for four of UNC’s six dunks in the game.
  • The Tar Heels have scored between 74 and 78 points in all five of their games this season.
  • No UNC opponent has scored 70 points yet this year.

 

FINAL BOX SCORE

 

 

 

 

 

Cover photo via Todd Melet

Related Stories
‹
Armando Bacot Dominates as No. 6 UNC Hangs On to Defeat No. 11 Oregon
Fresh off suffering its first loss of the season on Thursday against Michigan, the sixth-ranked UNC men’s basketball team responded in a big way on Friday in the Bahamas–using a dominant performance from freshman forward Armando Bacot to defeat the No. 11 Oregon Ducks by a score of 78-74. Bacot finished with a career-high 23 […]
Report: Former Tar Heel Deon Thompson to Join UNC Men's Basketball Coaching Staff
According to a report from Inside Carolina Tuesday morning, former player Deon Thompson is set to join UNC men’s basketball head coach Michael Malone’s staff in Chapel Hill. Thompson was a four-year standout for the Tar Heels, appearing in 152 games, starting 113 and helping UNC win the 2009 national championship. Playing alongside Tyler Hansbrough […]
Multiple UNC Teams Post Perfect Academic Progress Rates, New Report Says
Several UNC sports programs posted perfect single-year and multi-year academic progress rates for the 2024-25 academic year, according to the NCAA’s latest report. Academic progress rate (APR) is used to track performance of scholarship students who compete on varsity teams, and the score measures eligibility and retention each semester. A perfect score is 1000, and […]
Chansky's Notebook: Draft Dodgers?
Bill Belichick and Michael Malone have found themselves in the same undesirable dilemma: neither has any draft picks.
Update: Florida Atlantic's Maxim Logue No Longer Expected to Join UNC
Update: Inside Carolina reported Thursday afternoon that Florida Atlantic’s Maxim Logue is “no longer expected” to transfer to UNC this offseason. Breaking: Maxim Logue is no longer expected to transfer to UNC, sources have confirmed. The Florida Atlantic reserve post player's commitment was announced on April 21. Story: https://t.co/eusOm2uKnu pic.twitter.com/tmAiJa0DXu — InsideCarolina (@InsideCarolina) April 30, […]
Holding Court: As His Roster Comes Into Focus, 2 Keys for Malone’s UNC Debut
A handful of things already have come into focus regarding the 2026-27 North Carolina basketball team, the program’s first under new head coach Michael Malone.
International Prospect Sayon Keita Commits to UNC Men's Basketball
Sayon Keita, a seven-foot center currently playing with FC Barcelona in Spain, has committed to the UNC men’s basketball program for the 2026-27 season. View this post on Instagram Keita, originally from Bamako, Mali, is currently 18 years old and will arrive in Chapel Hill with multiple years of eligibility. But the belief is he […]
Freshmen, Transfers and More: Every Newcomer Joining UNC Men's Basketball for the 2026-27 Season
As Michael Malone embarks on his first season as the head coach of the UNC men’s basketball program, he’s gotten busy securing the additions of several newcomers to the program. Malone and his staff have mined from traditional high school recruiting and the transfer portal to fill out Carolina’s roster, and that work is continuing […]
Northwestern's Cade Bennerman Announces Commitment to UNC Men's Basketball
Cade Bennerman, who spent his freshman season at Northwestern, announced his commitment to UNC out of the transfer portal Monday. Bennerman, a seven-foot center, arrived at Northwestern as a three-star recruit out of high school who 247 Sports ranked as the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee. He was a star at Nashville’s […]
Stay Or Go? Player Movement Changes Tenor of College Basketball Offseason – Stroman on Sports (Apr. 24, 2026)
The Hill's Deborah Stroman and Brighton McConnell chat on Friday, April 24 as the college basketball transfer portal season pushes on and the deadline for the NBA Draft entry approaches.
›