Michigan State Edges Tar Heels In OT, 94-91, In Maui Consolation Game

Wednesday, November 27

Lahaina, Hawaii

9:30 PM ET

North Carolina

Michigan State

Drake Powell

Photo by: Maggie Hobson

Michigan State Edges Tar Heels In OT, 94-91, In Maui Consolation Game

November 27, 2024 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

LAHAINA, HAWAI'I— Tre Holloman scored 19 points as Michigan State outlasted 12th-ranked North Carolina, 94-91, in overtime in the third-place game of the 2024 Maui Invitational on Wednesday night at the Lahaina Civic Center.

For the third consecutive game in Maui, the Tar Heels fell behind by double digits in the first half. For the second night in a row, Carolina mounted a big comeback but came up short. UNC shot a season-high 47.8 percent from three-point range, draining 11 for 23 from behind the arc. The Tar Heels shot 50.0 percent from the floor in a loss for the first time since February 15, 2020, versus Virginia.

With the win, Michigan State improves to 6-2 this season, while UNC lost its second in a row to drop to 4-3.

Freshman Drake Powell led the way for Carolina with a season-high 18 points, hitting 7 of 9 shots and 4 of 6 three-pointers in a confident performance. He is the first UNC freshman to lead the team in scoring since Caleb Love had 13 points against Florida State in the semifinals of the 2021 ACC Tournament.

Classmate Ian Jackson also set a season scoring high with 14, connecting on 5 of 8 shots with a pair of three-pointers and four rebounds. RJ Davis was the focus of the Spartan defense and shot just 6 for 18 overall and 2 for 6 from long range, but he scored 16 points with a season-high seven assists.

Elliot Cadeau had 17 points (13 in the second half), three rebounds and six assists before fouling out in the closing minutes of overtime. Seth Trimble had nine points and a career-high four steals, including two in the final 1:03 of the second half. He hit a three-pointer with 5.2 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 82 and force overtime.

Six Spartans scored in double figures, and Michigan State out-rebounded the Tar Heels, 37-29. UNC has been beaten on the boards in back-to-back games for the first time in nearly a year.

Carolina trailed by as many as 14 points at 40-26 with 3:05 left in the first half and led for just 1:08 of the 45 minutes of game action. The Tar Heels held the Spartans without a field goal in the final 4:30 of regulation to force overtime but got a season-low 30 points in the paint on the night.

How It Happened
First Half
• Carolina missed its first nine shots from the floor, and Elliot Cadeau went to the bench with his second foul in the opening three minutes of the game.
• MSU made 9 of 11 shots to take a 27-16 lead before the third media timeout, handing the Tar Heels a double-digit deficit for the third game in a row and fourth time in seven games to start the season.
• Tre Holloman hit 5 of 5 shots, including 3 of 3 from three-point range, to lead all scorers with 13 points in the opening 20 minutes.
• Jackson and Powell each scored 10 in the first half for Carolina. The Tar Heels got 25 of 34 first-half points from their bench.

Second Half
• Carolina went on a 7-0 run to pull within three at 49-46 at the first media timeout after the break.
• The Tar Heels hit 10 of their first 13 shots in the second half to take their first lead since 1-0 to start the game.
• Trimble's defense in the final minute-plus allowed Carolina to force overtime. His steal off full-court pressure led to a Cadeau three-pointer with 1:03 remaining to make the score 80-79 Michigan State.
• Shortly thereafter, Trimble did it again. His steal with 34 seconds left gave Carolina a chance to take the lead before Cadeau missed a layup with 19 seconds to go.
• Trimble hit the biggest shot of the game and the week for the Tar Heels when he drained a contested three-pointer from just to the right of the top of the key with 5.2 seconds left to tie it at 82-all.
• The UNC defense held MSU without a shot on its final possession to force OT.

Overtime
• Carolina had chances but shot just 2 for 8 as a team in the extra stanza while Michigan State was 3 for 4 and 6 for 8 at the free throw line.

Up Next
The Tar Heels will fly home from Maui on Thursday night and will host Alabama in the ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday December 4 in Chapel Hill.