Defense, Jackson Lead Big Comeback Win Over UCLA, 76-74

Saturday, December 21

New York, N.Y.

3 PM

North Carolina

7-5,1-0ACC

UCLA

10-2,2-0Big Ten

North Carolina

UCLA

Ian Jackson in the postgame celebration in the UNC locker room

Photo by: Maggie Hobson

December 21, 2024 | Men's Basketball

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By: Matt Bowers

NEW YORK, N.Y.— North Carolina overcame a 16-point, second-half deficit and raced back to beat No. 18 UCLA, 76-74, on Saturday afternoon in the CBS Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden. The Tar Heels led for just 50 seconds of the 40 minutes of action, but it was enough.

Carolina shot 57 percent from the floor in the second half, and its defense held UCLA without a field goal in the final 3:42 to complete the comeback win. The Bruins led, 59-43, with 12:50 remaining in the second half. UNC outscored UCLA, 33-15, the rest of the way to nab the victory.

In need of a win over a ranked opponent, the Tar Heels delivered and improved to 7-5 this season. They snapped UCLA's nine-game winning streak and dropped the Bruins to 10-2 in 2024-25.

Freshman Ian Jackson, a New York native from The Bronx playing in Madison Square Garden for the first time, scored a season-high 24 points, hitting 8 of his team-high 13 shots, including draining a trio of three-pointers. He also grabbed four rebounds in perhaps his best game yet as a Tar Heel in front of a throng of family and friends, despite a strong UCLA defense. His 24 points are the most by a UNC freshman since Caleb Love had 25 against Duke on February 6, 2021.

"The energy here was electric," Jackson said. "It felt like a home game definitely. Yeah, just someplace I've never gotten to play before. My first time playing in the Garden. I had so much fun out there."

RJ Davis scored 17 points, hit a pair of three-pointers and hit three free throws in the final 22 seconds to seal the win. Seth Trimble hit 7 of 8 free throws and scored 12 points. He also made a crucial steal in the final 30 seconds.

"That's the reason why we won the game," Davis said of Trimble's steal. "He was able to deflect the ball...to give us a chance."

Point guard Elliot Cadeau chipped in eight points and five assists, drawing a team-high seven fouls and posting a plus/minus ratio of +10, best on the team for UNC. Drake Powell hit both of his shots, including a three-pointer, finishing with eight points and five boards.

Tyler Bilodeau hit 9 of 14 shots, including 5 of 6 three-pointers, and led all scorers with 26 points for the Bruins. Sebastian Mack had a game-high 16 first-half points and finished with 22.

The Tar Heels committed 11 first-half turnovers, leading to 12 UCLA points while allowing the Bruins to shoot 53 percent from the floor in the first half. Carolina shot only 37.5 percent as a team in falling behind early.

After UCLA shot well in the first 20 minutes, the UNC defense clamped down and led the comeback, holding the Bruins under 44 percent in the second half. Carolina also took better care of the ball, committing only seven second-half miscues.

"Down the stretch we got a stop, got the rebound, made the free-throws," said head coach Hubert Davis afterward. "That's something we haven't done in past games, so I was really proud of them."

Overall, Carolina shot 46.8 percent as a team and out-rebounded the Bruins, 34-28. UNC converted its seven offensive boards into points, dominating second-chance points, 13-2.

How It Happened
First Half
• The Bruins led, 9-2, in the early going, then saw the Tar Heels tie it at 11 with a 9-2 run. UCLA replied with an 8-0 run and led for 17:42 of the first 20 minutes.
• UCLA forced 11 turnovers and led by as many as 13 points in the opening half, shooting 53.3 percent from the floor, the third-best shooting half by a UNC opponent this season.
• Mack (16) and Bilodeau (13) scoring 29 of UCLA's 40 first-half points.
• UNC shot 37.5 percent from the field, including 4 of 12 three-pointers (33.3 percent).

Second Half
• UCLA built its lead in the early minutes of the second half to hold Carolina at bay. The Bruins led, 59-43, with 12:50 to go. UNC outscored them, 33-15, the rest of the way.
• The Tar Heels cut the Bruin advantage to single digits at 61-52 with 9:46 to go by hitting 4 of 5 shots in a brief spurt and forcing a UCLA timeout.
• A three-pointer by Elliot Cadeau cut the lead to six at 61-55 moments later.
• Carolina rallied and made it a one-possession game with just over six minutes to play, exciting the predominantly pro-Tar Heel crowd.
• Jackson cut the UCLA lead to one at 66-65 with a jumper with 6:10 remaining, part of a 10-3 UNC scoring burst.
• Jalen Washington tied the score at 72 with a layup with 1:32 to go, marking the first tie since the score was 13-all.
• After Davis hit 1 of 2 free throws with 22 seconds remaining to make the score 74-73 UCLA, Trimble stole the ball on the ensuing inbound pass.
• UCLA fouled Davis, who hit two free throws with 13.6 seconds left. It was UNC's first lead since 2-0 in the opening seconds of the game.

Notes
• Carolina is 7-4 in the CBS Sports Classic, including 3-0 vs. UCLA.
• UNC is 12-3 all-time against the Bruins with wins in seven consecutive meetings and 11 of the last 12.
• The Tar Heels are 45-26 in New York City and 31-12 in the current Madison Square Garden.
• Jackson made multiple three-pointers for the fourth time this season and tied his season high with three in the first half. He finished 3 for 7 from behind the arc and scored in double figures for the seventh time in his 11 games.
• The last time Carolina had two comebacks of at least 15 points in the same season (prior to Saturday) was in 2010-11, when the Tar Heels did it against Miami in the ACC Tournament (down 19) and Virginia Tech on 1/13/11 (down 16).
• Carolina wore blue throwback uniforms from the 1970s-80s era.

Up Next
The Tar Heels will take an eight-day break for Christmas before hosting Campbell at home in Chapel Hill on Sunday December 29 at 8 p.m.