On a day of feasts, the No. 1 Tar Heels nearly found themselves with a famine. Carolina encountered a stern test in the opening game of the Phil Knight Invitational in Portland, OR, just managing to fight off the homestanding Portland Pilots 89-81.

All five Tar Heel starters scored in double figures, led by graduate forward Pete Nance with 28 points on 8-13 shooting. Junior guard Caleb Love had his most efficient game of the season, scoring 23 points on 10-15 shooting, including 3-4 from three-point range. Love came into the day shooting below 20 percent from behind the arc.

Love and Nance were critical in UNC’s winning effort, one which saw the Tar Heels lead by just three points at halftime and trail by as many as five points in the second half. The Pilots took a 75-73 lead late in the half, but only made one more field goal in the final 4:32. In that span, the Tar Heels went on a 16-6 run, getting critical baskets from Armando Bacot, Leaky Black and R.J. Davis to ice the game.

Though Bacot had a relatively unproductive 11 points, he also grabbed 13 rebounds to notch his 51st career double-double. That mark ties him with an all-time UNC great: Antawn Jamison. Hall of Famer Billy Cunningham holds the Carolina record with 60.

The Tar Heels shot over 50 percent from the floor for the second time in five games this season, torching the nets to the tune of 31-58 (53.4 percent). The Pilots kept pace with hot shooting of their own in the first half, particularly from three — four different Portland players hit at least one shot from behind the arc, including Moses Wood, who hit four.

As Wood cooled off in the second half, so did the Pilots — he went 0-4 from downtown in the half, and Portland hit just five threes in that period. Nance caught fire in the same interval, scoring 20 of his 28 points, shooting 5-7 from the floor and hitting three threes. Bacot was also a force on the glass, grabbing 10 rebounds in the half.

Now, UNC will face a much tougher test in Friday’s second round. The Tar Heels will face the winner of Iowa State and Villanova at 5:30 p.m. Either matchup would see Carolina trying to avenge a buzzer-beating NCAA Tournament defeat: the Tar Heels fell to the Cyclones at the horn in the second round in 2014, and lost on Kris Jenkins’ buzzer-beater in the 2016 championship game against the Wildcats.

 

Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Maggie Hobson

Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our biweekly newsletter.

Related Stories
‹
Tracking Which UNC Men's Basketball Players Have Entered the 2026 Transfer Portal
The NCAA men’s basketball transfer portal opened Tuesday, April 7, the day after the national championship game. Following UNC head coach Hubert Davis’ dismissal on March 24, several Tar Heels have entered their names into the portal and pursue other opportunities. Here’s a list of which players have either made announcements or are reported to […]
5-Star Commit Dylan Mingo Will Not Join UNC Men's Basketball
Five-star guard prospect Dylan Mingo, who pledged to join the UNC men’s basketball program for the 2026-27 season, will not come to Chapel Hill after all. Mingo, a 6-foot-5 guard from Long Island who ESPN rated as the No. 9 overall player in his recruiting class, originally committed to UNC on Feb. 17, less than […]
Jarin Stevenson to Return to UNC Men's Basketball for Senior Season
Jarin Stevenson will return to the UNC men’s basketball season and play his senior season in Chapel Hill for head coach Michael Malone. Stevenson made the announcement on social media Monday. View this post on Instagram The 6-foot-10 wing never formally entered his name to the NCAA transfer portal following the end of the men’s […]
Report: UNC Men's Basketball Hiring Former Providence Head Coach Kim English as Assistant
According to reports by both Inside Carolina and ESPN’s Pete Thamel, the UNC men’s basketball program is hiring former Providence head coach Kim English to Michael Malone’s staff in Chapel Hill. English spent the past three seasons with the Friars, though Providence finished with losing record in both the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons, leading to […]
Virginia Tech Transfer Neoklis Avdalas Commits to UNC Men's Basketball
Neoklis Avdalas, who spent his first season in college basketball playing at Virginia Tech, reportedly committed to head coach Michael Malone and UNC out of the transfer portal Monday. Originally from Athens, Greece, Avdalas played professionally in the Greek HEBA A1 league for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, averaging 7.7 points per game. The 6-foot-9 […]
UNC's Luka Bogavac to Enter Transfer Portal After 1 Season
After one season in Chapel Hill, UNC wing Luka Bogavac is entering his name into the transfer portal. Bogavac’s journey to Carolina was a long one. After committing to the Tar Heels during the summer, the Montenegrin national dealt with eligibility issues which kept him out of UNC’s two exhibition contests. He was eventually cleared […]
Chansky's Notebook: Past and Present
Michael Malone may not come from the “Carolina Family,” but Hubert Davis made him feel like an adopted son.
Report: UNC Men's Basketball Hiring Chuck Martin as Associate Head Coach
Michael Malone is already working to fill out his staff. According to reports from both Inside Carolina and college basketball insider Jon Rothstein, Malone and UNC are hiring Arkansas assistant Chuck Martin to be the Tar Heels’ associate head coach. Michael Malone has landed his top assistant, as Arkansas' Chuck Martin is set to join […]
Chansky's Notebook: New York Fire
David Glenn digs into the background of new UNC men's basketball head coach Michael Malone, who was introduced Tuesday.
'I'm Attacking This Job': Michael Malone Introduces Himself to the Carolina Family
The next chapter in the long history of UNC men’s basketball began at 6 p.m. on the dot Tuesday night at the Dean Smith Center.
›