CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Tennessee unexpectedly had the seventh-ranked college basketball team in the country on the ropes on Sunday evening.
The Volunteers couldn’t complete the upset, though.
Tony Bradley blocked Lamonte Turner’s shot in the final seconds to preserve North Carolina’s 73-71 win against upstart Tennessee at the Dean E. Smith Center on Sunday evening.
Tennessee, 20-point underdogs in its first road game of the season, led by 15 points in the first half and carried the lead into the final minutes, but the execution disappeared late and the Tar Heels escaped with the win in the first meeting between the programs since 2006.
Robert Hubbs scored 21 points to lead the Vols (4-4), while Jordan Bowden scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half, when Tennessee jumped out to a 28-13 lead.
North Carolina (10-1) scored 25 second-chance points on 22 offensive rebounds and held the Vols to 39 percent shooting in the second half and forced 16 turnovers to win despite making just two 3-pointers.
Tennessee’s eight-point halftime cushion disappeared quickly as North Carolina scored six straight out of the locker room and tied the game at 50 with 13:35 to go.
The Tar Heels never could grab the lead, though, as the Vols overcome some sluggish offense, a 3-of-13 shooting start to the second half and careless turnovers to maintain its narrow advantage.
Shembari Phillips hit a jump shot and answered Nate Britt’s 3 — just the second of the game for North Carolina — with a tough running bank shot for a 62-59 Tennessee lead with less than eight minutes left.
John Fulkerson made a running hook shot, Hubbs made a tough runner and Grant Williams converted a pick-and-roll layup as the Vols continued to quell the home crowd and answer North Carolina’s scores and led 68-65 with 3:52 to go.
The Tar Heels finally took the lead on Justin Jackson’s drive with 2:14 to go, and Tennessee couldn’t get a shot off out of timeout with less than two minutes to go.
Inside the final minute, Brandon Robinson tipped in a miss shot to give the hosts a 72-69 lead, but Fulkerson made a spinning drive to basket with 40.4 seconds left to answer.
The Vols forced a desperation 3-pointer with less than 15 seconds left, but gave up their 22nd offensive rebound of the game to Kennedy Meeks, who split a pair of free throws with with 8.9 seconds left to set up the final play.
The Vols, starting three freshmen making their first road start, stunned the Sunday evening crowd at the Dean Dome by grabbing a 15-point lead with 7:49 left in the first half.
Hubbs and freshmen Williams and Fulkerson each finished tough shots in the lane in the game’s opening moments, and Lamonte Turner and Bowden hit 3s to give Tennessee a 16-11 lead.
Bowden drained a trey off an offensive rebound and Hubbs made a pair of shots and converted a three-point play during a 12-0 run during a four-minute stretch as the Tar Heels struggled offensively.
Tennessee shot 65 percent in the first half and maintained its lead despite turning the ball over eight times and giving up 10 offensive rebounds to the taller Tar Heels.
North Carolina made just five of its first 25 shots before making nine of 14 shots to close the half, though the Vols seemed to have an answer every time the crowd tried to get into the game.
Turner made a running bank shot and a mid-range jumper, while Hubbs slammed home a missed shot and hit a tough turnaround jumper with the shot clock running down.
The Vols led 44-36 at halftime.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.