RECAP: North Carolina edges past Memphis in Hoops for St. Jude Tip Off Classic

The new-look Tigers didn’t have a great first outing Tuesday night.

Penny Hardaway’s club narrowly lost to No. 9 North Carolina 84-76 in the Hoops for St. Jude Tip Off Classic exhibition inside FedExForum.

Memphis, though it showed outstanding effort and tenacity on both ends of the floor, failed to make up for its inefficient play against the Tar Heels.

The Tigers shot 44% from the field and 23% from 3-point range. They also out-rebounded UNC 41-40 while recording 10 offensive rebounds, 14 steals, 12 assists and 6 blocks. Hardaway’s team, which scored 10 second-chance points, ultimately derailed its momentum with 22 turnovers.

North Carolina—which played without star guard RJ Davis—shot 47% overall and 33% from beyond the arc. The Tar Heels also recorded 21 assists, 9 offensive rebounds and 13 steals. Hubert Davis’ squad, which committed 21 turnovers, scored 44 points in the paint compared to 40 for Memphis.

The Tigers will take on No. 2 Alabama for another exhibition on Oct. 28 inside Propst Arena in Huntsville, Alabama. Memphis then begins the regular season against Missouri on Nov. 4 at FedExForum.

Here are some takeaways from UNC’s victory.

Hunter and Haggerty score tough buckets.

The Tigers’ two lead guards didn’t have their prettiest outings, but both seem to be comfortable in a more scrappy environment.

Tyrese Hunter, a 6-foot transfer from Texas, didn’t score his first bucket until the 11:14 mark in the first half, but he then went on a 7-point heater in less than two minutes to finish with just as many points at halftime. Hunter finished the game with 9 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists on 40% shooting.

PJ Haggerty, a 6-foot-3 transfer from Tulsa, had a wildly inefficient first half, but then responded with a monster final period. He led Memphis with 24 points, 9 rebounds (2 offensive) and 3 assists on 8-for-14 shooting. Fifteen of those points (6-for-7 shooting) came in the second half. He also shot 7-of-9 from the free throw line.

Colby Rogers, Tyreek Smith and Nick Jourdain also chipped in 11, 9 and 8 points respectively, while Baraka Okojie snatched 4 steals.

Seth Trimble goes on a heater.

UNC forward Seth Trimble’s career-high is 12 points. He scored 33 points in Tuesday’s exhibtion.

The Tar Heels were in desperate need of a scorer without Davis, who sat out with a lower back contusion. Trimble answered the call and then some.

He finished the first half with 14 points while shooting 6-of-9 from the field and 50% from 3-point range, and then began the second by scoring 8 points in less than as many minutes.

Memphis held much of North Carolina’s offense in check throughout the evening, but it never had an answer for Trimble, who shot 11-for-17 for the game while also recording 3 assists and 2 steals. Jalen Washington and Elliot Cadeau complimented him with 17 and 11 points respectively.

Turnovers bury Tigers in the second half.

Memphis was far from perfect offensively in the first half, but it won the turnover battle against UNC with 7 compared to the Tar Heels’ 12.

Davis’ club made some second half adjustments, however, and Memphis didn’t adjust back. Hardaway’s team gave the ball away 15 times in the final period, and fell behind by as many as 15 points.

Memphis ultimately cut the lead back to single digits in the final five minutes, but its previous mistakes ultimately proved to be too much.