UNC came up just short against BYU, falling 78–76 in the Tar Heels’ first of two exhibition matchups at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Caleb Wilson led North Carolina with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Seth Trimble added 17.

Down by two with five seconds remaining, Trimble drove to the basket, but his potential game-tying layup was blocked by the Cougars at the buzzer.

UNC’s second and final exhibition game is on Wednesday, when the Heels will host Winston-Salem State at the Smith Center.

(Photo: 247Sports) 

Here are details from the game:

Final seconds…

Down by 5 points, Seth Trimble was fouled on a three-point try. He made all 3 free throws to cut UNC’s deficit to just two. BYU missed two free throws and UNC got a timeout with 5 seconds left down by 2. At the buzzer, Seth Trimble’s layup attempt was blocked by BYU.

UNC timeout — 1:41, UNC trails BYU 74-71

BYU took the ball to the rim and kicked out to a wide open shooter who canned a 3-pointer from the corner to give the Cougars a three point lead.

BYU timeout — 2:14, UNC, BYU tied at 71

UNC and BYU exchange buckets down low. Jarin Stevenson split the pair at the free throw line as BYU takes a timeout.

Media timeout — 3:39, UNC and BYU tied at 68

Caleb Wilson drove to the hole and converted on a contested layup to give him 22 points and Carolina its largest lead of the game at 68-64. Right before the media timeout, BYU drew a foul and made a shot down low, tying the game with the free throw pending on the other side of the timeout.

Media timeout — 5:46, UNC takes a 65-64 lead

Caleb Wilson got another offensive board and put-back to cut BYU’s lead to one. Defensively, UNC forced a BYU miss and Seth Trimble was fouled on a layup down low in transition to give the Tar Heels a 65-64 lead. He’ll shoot his and-one free throw out of the timeout.

UNC timeout — 6:36, BYU leads UNC 64-61

Every time UNC gets close and ties it up, BYU pulls back ahead. However, it seems the Heels’ offense is starting to click a bit more. Caleb Wilson is all over the place. He took a wide open dunk, and on the other end, had active hands and helped force a BYU turnover. In transition, Wilson took a hard fall and was fouled, but he missed both free throws. On the next possession, Wilson got an offensive board and put-back to tie the game. BYU responded right away with a 3-pointer, and followed that with a bucket down low to take a three point lead right before UNC’s timeout.

Under 12 timeout  — 11:29, BYU leads UNC 55-53

UNC is starting to attack the offensive boards more and more. Caleb Wilson got an offensive rebound, missed a put-back, got his own rebound and finally got a bucket down low. The Heels are fouling BYU more than they’d like. UNC is playing with a bit more pace, AJ Dybantsa made a nice play with the shot clock expiring, so the Heels beat BYU down the court and it gave Jonathan Powell a wide open 3-pointer which he canned. UNC is shooting 50% in the second half at this point.

Under 16 timeout — 15:23, BYU leads UNC 45-44

Henri Veesaar has made his presence felt down low early in the second half. After a dunk down low, Veesaar went up for a second consecutive slam and took a hard fall while being fouled. He sunk both free throws to cut BYU’s lead to one. After a BYU missed 3-pointer on the other end, Seth Trimble rose up with one arm and dunked it home to give UNC a 44-43 lead. However, AJ Dybantsa responded for BYU to give the Cougars the lead back right before the TV timeout.

Halftime: UNC trails BYU 39-35 

(Photo: 247Sports)

Final 4 minutes:

Caleb Wilson and AJ Dybantsa continue to go back and forth. Wilson blocked Dybantsa’s shot on one end, and Dybantsa did the same to Wilson on the other. James Brown picked up two offensive fouls in just over a minute to end the half.

Under 4 timeout — 3:36, 35-29 BYU leads

Another sloppy four minutes for UNC and BYU took advantage. Jarin Stevenson had two turnovers, while Seth Trimble got to the free throw line four times and split each pair. Derek Dixon is due for two more on the other side of the timeout. Meanwhile, the Cougars capitalized and are on an 8-2 run.

Under 8 timeout — 7:48 ‚ 23-22 BYU leads

Caleb Wilson’s athleticism is shining. He can run point guard, but his speed in transition led to a fast break dunk off a turnover. Jarin Stevenson also created for himself, connecting on a nice turnaround jumper. 

BYU timeout — 10:30, 18-18

UNC is in the midst of an 8-0 run over the last 1:14 thanks to 3-pointers from Jarin Stevenson and Derek Dixon, as well as a block by Henri Veesaar. The game is tied at 18.

Under 12 timeout — 11:57, 18-10 BYU leads

UNC is up to 7 turnovers and 6 fouls 8 minutes into the game. Seth Trimble made a highlight play on a fast break when Jonathan Powell threw him an alley-oop and Trimble slammed it home with one hand. Caleb Wilson continues to make a huge impact defensively — he picked up his second block of the game. The Heels haven’t been able to put through a 3-pointer yet, either. They’re 0-of-4 from long range.

Under 16 timeout — 15:57, 9-6 BYU leads

On UNC’s first possession, Kyan Evans hit a mid-range shot off the glass. Beyond that, points were hard to come by for the Tar Heels. Caleb Wilson stuck out early with his playmaking, defense and presence down low. He slammed home a dish from Henri Veesaar. Offensively, UNC was sloppy and turned it over four times in as many minutes. However, Jarin Stevenson and Seth Trimble each had their own stop against AJ Dybantsa.

Starting lineup:

– Kyan Evans

– Seth Trimble

– Caleb Wilson

– Jarin Stevenson

– Henri Veesaar

Update: Luca Bogavac will NOT play tonight.

(Photo: 247Sports)